Rabbit Ramblings

Chocolate Oak Penguin Crunchies

2010-12-18T13:25:00.002-05:00

March of the Stainless Steel Shower Stalls

2010-07-23T16:48:00.000-04:00

Boo Jr's Weather Forecast

2010-07-21T08:08:00.000-04:00

Drugs Only!

2010-07-16T15:58:00.000-04:00

Visit to a Sustainable Farm

2010-05-24T06:12:00.006-04:00

Getting Dirty in the Crawl Space

2010-05-21T10:42:00.000-04:00

Upcoming Field Trip

2010-05-18T10:09:00.003-04:00

On Thursday, I get to crawl around in the following crawl space.

Go Fly A Kite!

2010-03-08T06:30:00.002-05:00

My son and I spent yesterday afternoon flying a kite for the very first time. The Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation Department held a kite flying event at a sports center a few miles down the road from us. Free kites were handed out to the kids or you were free to bring your own kite. We got one of the free kites, which inexpensive but pretty neat little kits made out of tyvek. They were already put together so all we had to do was decorate it. They had sheets of cardboard on the ground so the kids could lay out and color with markers. Boo Jr, in typical fashion, drew a watermellon slice on one side and an apple on the other side.

It was a beautiful day here yesterday. Temperatures got into the low 60s and the sun was out in full force. However, it wasn't all that windy out. That didn't stop well over 100 other people coming out to participate. Boo Jr and I took turns with one person holding the kite and the other person running to get the kite up in the air. We got the kite up in the air most times, but it would only stay up for a minute or so. Like I said, not much wind. But there were a handful of times that we got the kite up quite high in the sky for a good few minutes. It was really great. Boo Jr was so excited to see his "flying watermellon". I had a great time too trying my best to maneuver the kite and keep it afloat. It was challenging to judge the wind direction and to avoid getting tangled with other people's kites. The only real pain in the ass was the string. The string frequently got tangled and knotted up, especially if I had a lot of string let out. On a couple of occasions, I had to cut the string, take out the knotted up portion, and the retie the string together. We ended up staying at the kite festival for almost two hours.

We went to Friendly's afterwards to celebrate with some ice cream sundaes. It was a special day for everyone.

A Trip to the Dentist

2010-03-03T06:31:00.002-05:00

Boo Jr had a routine cleaning at the dentist about a month ago. One of his x-rays showed a cavity. My wife and I felt devestated that our son would have a cavity at this early of an age. We have Boo Jr brush his teeth after every meal. He rarely drinks soda, and he probably eats a lot less junk than most kids. So today was the big day to get his cavity filled. I came home from work to accompany my son since my wife doesn't do well in situations like that. So they take another x-ray to confirm the exact location of the cavity and give him some laughing gas while they process the x-ray. It turned out that there wasn't a cavity after all. The first x-ray was a little blurry because Boo Jr must have wiggled a little bit. It created a little shadow that made it look just like a cavity. So, thankfully, there was no cavity and we were able to go home - no charge.

Stories From Walt Disney World - 2

2010-02-04T06:25:00.002-05:00

Fireworks are always a site to see at Disney. They didn't let me down this time around either. One nice thing about going to Disney this time of year is that it gets dark sooner so they hold the fireworks earlier. A couple of the most memorable moments was when we saw the fireworks at Magic Kingdom near the end of the week. We had heard that during the show, Tinkerbell flies from Cinderella's castle. Beforehand, my wife and I were discussing whether or not it would be a mechanical device or a real person. To our surprise, a real person attached to a zip line and all lit up with colorful LEDs "flew" from Cinderella's castle to Tomorrowland. Most kids seening this would exclaim, "WOW!" or "COOL!". But not my kid. Boo Jr exclaimed, "Oh my!"

Stories From Walt Disney World - 1

2010-02-03T06:21:00.002-05:00

My family and I drove to Walt Disney World this past week. Here are some of the highlights.

We visited the Hollywood Studios theme park during one of the days on our visit. There are many shows and attractions for people to see there. One of them is the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.

The show recreates some of the famous scenes from the Indiana Jones movies and shows some of the behind the scenes for the stunts. Another part of the show is the "casting director" who picks volunteers from the audience to be extras in some of the movie scenes. The extras are brought on stage and asked to "try out" by performing simple tasks. Note that these pictures are ones that I simply grabbed from the Internet and are not of my trip.

So I raised my hand to volunteer and actually got picked. The girl said, "You in the back with the blue shirt and the shiny head! Come on down! I was part of a group with two women. The casting director asked the girls to laugh like a damsel in distress, and they went, "Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee." Then she came to me, and asked me my name and where I was from. The casting director was all flirty with me (part of the show) and asked me to give my best evil, dasterdly laugh. I have already seen this show so I was prepared. I gave out a loud, "BWAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!" The casting director's eyes got really big and she said, "You're hired!"

So they took us off stage and got us dressed in these costumes to make us look like the citizens of Cairo. They later brought us back down on stage and participate in a few different scenes. It was neat seeing all of the stunt men and women doing their gymnastic routines and swinging around their swords. There was even a big explosion when we were down on stage!

They later sent us back to our seats to watch the rest of the show. My wife was telling me that everyone in the area looked back at her when I did my laugh because no one believed I could laugh like that. Silly me also forgot to give my wife the camera when I went on stage (I had the camera on my belt) so we didn't end up getting any pictures. It was a great experience. I was nervous as hell, but it will always be something I'll remember.

Anatomy of a Pirate

2010-01-06T10:37:00.002-05:00

The Adventures of Small Wolf

2009-12-14T08:48:00.002-05:00

Boo Jr has been studying Native American Indians in school recently. This is Boo Jr's retelling of a story they heard in school.

Booboo Bunny - Green Roots Activist

2009-11-30T06:21:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted here in a while. Work and family has been keeping me busy. I've also been busy with the "Go Green" blog for my son's elementary school. I recently learned that many plastic bags such as cereal bags, bread bags, ziplock bags, toilet paper and paper towel wrapping, and much more can be recycled at facilities that accept plastic grocery bags. Check out this link for a complete list of plastic bags that can and can not be recyled in this manner.

As dorky as it sounds, I was inspired to contact a bunch of manufacturers that use these types of bags in their packaging. So I e-mailed all of the major cereal manufacturers as well as other companies informing them that those bags are recyclable and would they publicize that fact on their packaging and website. I advised the to specifically note that they should be recycled at your local grocery store and similar facilities that accept plastic grocery bags. If you just mention that the bags are recyclable, people might put them in their curbside recycling. Most curbside recycling programs do not accept plastic grocery bags. They create havoc at the sorting facility because they get tangled in the machines and jam them up. The bags are also really lightweight and fly out of the back of the truck and become litter. I was disappointed in the reponse of some manufacturers in that they simply wrote back a boilerplate response thanking me for writing and that they would pass my concerns onto the appropriate party. Others did a better job and shared their other sustainable practices. They also said that they would share my idea with their marketing department and their webmaster. That would be cool if these companies made that change. Some of them were nice enough to send me some coupons for their products, so that made my time and effort more worth while.

I've been active with other grass roots efforts as well. I knew from researching the internet that many schools in our school disrtict had some sort of recycling program. I thought it would be great to share ideas amongst our schools and collaborate on larger projects. So I created a Google group to serve as an open forum to discuss these ideas. I also sent e-mails to all of the elementary schools' principals as well as the PTA presidents. I shared all of the great things we've done at my son's school, asked them to share what (if anything) they're doing at their school, and encouraged them to check out our green club blog. I got a response from less than half of those e-mails that I sent. For those that did respond, they gave me a simple answer back but gave me the impression they otherwise weren't interested. But I got some very favorable responses from about 5 or 6 schools. These are schools that are very interested in starting their own green effort and were looking for help getting things going. So my contacting them was very helpful to their effort. I got lots of great compliments on my green blog too.

One of the big changes I'd like to make in the school district is change from paperboard milk cartons to plastic milk chugs. This is because the former is not recyclable and the latter is. Switching to the plastic milk chugs will reduce the amount of trash heading to the landfill and will suplement our other recycling efforts in the school. I had enquired about this with the school district about a month ago and was told that the plastic milk bottles were more expensive than the traditional paperboard milk cartons. I did some research and learned that schools that make the switch have seen a big increase in milk and lunch sales. The increase in sales typically offsets the increased cost of the plastic milk chugs. Schools have found that it reduces the amount of waste generated in the cafeteria by about 10 - 15 percent. This will help reduce the overall amount of trash produced by the school so maybe the school could go with fewer and/or smaller dumpsters. This would result in an overall cost savings. I'm hoping that the reduction in waste hauling services would offset the costs for the school district to start a district-wide recycling program. Currently, most schools do not recycling. Some schools are partnered with recycling companies that collect only newspaper and aluminum cans. This is a free service to the schools and actually raises a little money for them. Other schools, such as my son's, pay for their recycling service. We have mixed stream recycling so we can also recycle paper, plastic, metal, and cardboard as well newspapers and aluminum cans. Our PTA pays for this service to the tune of over $700/year.

The last activity that has been taking up my time is a fundraiser for the green club. I collect cartons for MilkMuny. They pay schools 50 cents/carton and turn the cartons into neat wallets. It's similar to the popular Capri Sun juice pouch brigade that TerraCycle does. The school didn't want students bringing cartons to school so I found a different solution. Every Monday, I stop by my local IHOPs and pick up two to three garbage bags of Florida Natural 1/2 gallon OJ cartons. I average between 40 - 60 cartons a week. I spend Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (before work) cutting the tops and bottoms off the cartons and rinsing them out. I sent my first batch of 300 cartons to MilkMuny about a week ago and will soon receive a check for $150. They will accept up to 1,000 cartons over the course of the school year. We'll use that money to fund our battery recycling program as well as other activities.

All of this volunteering has been very rewarding. I hope to inspire more and more people to help protect the environment.

Polar Bear Nipples

2009-11-09T12:28:00.002-05:00

I read a book to my son every night before he goes to sleep. He's been reading a bunch of non-fiction books lately. A few night ago, we read a book about polar bears. The book talked about baby polar bears getting milk from their mother. Boo Jr told me, "Polar bears don't drink milk. Milk comes from cows." I then explained to him that all mammals make milk and proceeded to list different kinds of mammals. I told him that if our dog, Sofie, had puppies that she would make milk, and told him that Mommy made milk after she gave birth to him.

"But where does the milk come from?" asked Boo Jr.

"Nipples." I said.

"Oh." my son said. And we continued on with reading our book.

Doing Homework

2009-11-06T12:10:00.002-05:00

My wife is the one who typically does the homework with Boo Jr. They do it right after he gets home from school and before dinner. But every once in a while, I'll do homework with him or help him study for his tests. One thing that I'm enjoying is that he's starting to learn more complex subject matter in school. Earlier this year, his class learned about the continents and oceans. They also studied American geography such as knowing where the Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, Mississippi River, James River, and Virginia are on a map. More recently, they've been studying the water cycle, The need to know all about evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and run off. It's neat that they also talk about how it's important to conserve water and protect our water sources from pollution. They've also gotten into learning about the states of matter - solid, liquid, and gas. It's been cool remembering the old days when I learned this material in school.

Parent/Teacher Conference

2009-11-04T12:38:00.003-05:00

My wife and I attended the first parent/teacher conference this school year. Boo Jr. is now in second grade and has been doing well. He had a bit of a rough patch adjusting to first grade and had a number of distractions to deal with. He was hospitalized last fall with salmonella poisoning and had a long term substitute teacher in the spring when his first grade teacher was out for several weeks due to a health issue.

The teacher described my son as "such a sweet and polite boy" and being "so enthusiastic" about school. It's great to hear comments about that to confirm that you're doing a good job raising your child. Boo Jr's doing well overall. He's above average in a couple areas and needs a little help in some other areas. He's made some great progress eith his reading comprehension skills and getting it more in line with his reading ability.

I really like Boo Jr's teacher, Mrs. L. His first grade teacher last year, Mrs. F, was OK, but Mrs. L just seems more warm and caring. That seems to be more beneficial in Boo Jr's success in school. I'm hoping that he continues to excell in his strengths and make progress with his weaknesses because third grade brings the dreaded SOL tests.

Prisoners Have It So Rough

2009-11-04T12:01:00.003-05:00

I was out in the field earlier this week at one of my prison jobs doing a punch list. The GC was telling me about a neat program they will have at this jail. Each housing unit holds 96 inmates (assuming double bunking). There are 3 flat screen tvs mounted up high. Inmates are given special ear phones and can "tune in" to a specific tv. That way inmates can listen to Oprah and not be distracted by Judge Judy on the other tv.

Our Throwaway Society's Effect on Wildlife

2009-10-20T12:41:00.002-04:00

These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking. To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.

Click HERE to see even more photos.

Volunteering

2009-10-19T12:02:00.003-04:00

Many of you know that I volunteer for the Green Club at my son's elementary school. It's been quite a rewarding experiencing, but I've been experiencing some frustration lately. I'm one of two parents who are quite involved and do a bulk of the work. At the beginning of the year, we asked parents to volunteer to be green club representatives for their child's classroom. Their duties would be minimal such as to make sure the classroom had the appropriate recycle bins. We had a really great response and had 50 parents sign up.

Our club conducts numerous fundraisers and projects throughout the school year. Our next event is participating in the school's "Fall Festival". They have a pumpkin lighting, face painting, and other crap for the kids. I sent a mass e-mail out to everyone asking for volunteers to help out with the Green Club's activities at this event. We need people to sell reusable grocery bags, and we need people to keep an eye on the recycling stations and swap the bags out so they don't overflow. I was hoping we would get a dozen or so volunteers to split up the duties. So far, we've only gotten two responses out of 50.

I'm more peaved that people can't be bothered to respond to the e-mail than anything. It's OK if you can't volunteer because you weren't planning on attending the event anyway. But at least have some courtesy and let me know that. I know everyone can't be as gung-ho as me, but I think people can give up 15 minutes of their time at an event like this so they can sell bags or something.

Harmony Korine by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree)

2009-10-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Rain, come down, and fall forever
Drain, the dirt, into the wasteland
Pray, for sound, to quiet the howling

Feel, no shame, too brave
Feel, afraid, to wait forever

Kneel, to fade, the day�s corrosion
Crawl, depart, towards perdition
Gray, the part, the bruise within you

Feel, no shame, too brave
Feel, afraid, to wait forever

Forever

Feel, no shame, too brave
Feel, afraid, to wait forever

That's My Boy!

2009-10-05T06:40:00.003-04:00

It was busy weekend here at the Rabbit household. We had our company picnic to go to on Saturday and a birthday party on Sunday. It was just me and my son who went to the picnic. My wife is just getting over being sick and has a sorority conference to go to later this week so she didn't want to push her luck getting sick again. This year, the picnic was held at the president's house. He has a horse farm out in the boonies west of Richmond. It's a really nice house. We had it at his house this year because of the down economy. He provided the hamburgs, hot dogs, and sodas while everyone else brough a dish to pass. He has a large playset in his back yard for his grandkids, so that's where everyone's kids spent most of their time. There was one older woman who was looking over an infant who was playing in the kitchen under slide platform. Boo Jr was playing in there for a while too. When I stopped by to check in on my son, the woman complemented me on how well behaved he was and how gentle he was with the baby.

Yesterday, we had a birthday party to go to. It was at Mad Science. I stayed at the party because it was a half hour away and I didn't know the birthday boy's parents. It was a pretty neat party with lots of fire and loud noises, but I would never spend that kind of money on a party like that. The birthday boy's mother complemented me a number of times about how "awesome" his manners are. I can see why when you compare him to one girl who complained that her second slice of pizza was too small and was whining "when are we going to get our gift bags?". I was a little bummed that Boo Jr didn't want to go on the hovercraft ride. I think he was scared of the loud noise made by the blower. I had Boo Jr thank birthday boy's mom for the party, and unprompted, he gave her a hug. That really made my day. I need moments like that to reaffirm that my wife and I are doing a good job raising our son. The way my son acts at home sometimes (especially getting him downstairs to eat dinner), it makes you wonder how good a job you're doing. I guess we're doing just fine.

One way to stop global warming...

2009-09-28T06:30:00.003-04:00

Biodegradable Peel-off Plates

2009-09-24T06:44:00.005-04:00

I received an unexpected e-mail from a college student in Thailand. He was doing research for a new green tray for use in school cafeterias and came across my green club website. It's an interesting concept. Check it out.

Dear... Green club

My name is Natwharin Chaisnathana. I am student of Master degree in Marketing at Thammasat University -Thailand. In my second year curriculum, My friends and I have to develop a business plan for a real product (and I has to can be run business in the real world also.) (You can find more information in www.) Our product that we choose is Biodegradable food container such as tray, bowl but we're not sure that anyone or anywhere need this kind of product. From my searching information, I found that some people need their school to go green including in cafeteria and it lead me to found you. Could you give me some comment or suggestion about our product?

Even though it s just a school project but we hope to run it for real in the future if it has really benefit for the world. we would like to do something good to the world and we hope this product can solve some aspect of problem.

Thank you so much for your time.

Natwharin C.

Here was my response

This is a very interesting concept. Many schools currently use polystyrene food trays in their cafeterias. This is mostly for budget reasons as the schools claim that it's more expensive to use reusable trays that need to be washed. I have looked into some alternatives to polystyrene trays such as trays made from sugar cane. These types of trays typically cost two or three cents more than the polystyrene trays. Even though this difference is small, it is enough of a difference that the school will not switch to them. Any new product such as yours would need to be less expensive than the polystyrene trays. I had some questions and concerns for you to address.

How durable is the surface? I'd be worried about forks and knives cutting through the top surface and damaging the lower surfaces.
Would the surface absorb juices, sauces, and grease and stain the lower surfaces as a result?

Someone would have to be hired to clean the trays by peeling the layers off. This is an added cost. Also, when the students return their trays to the cafeteria, the trays will likely be stacked so they can be cleaned. This will get the bottoms of the trays dirty and they will need to be cleaned.

You would need to prove that the trays were hygenic after repeated uses. Health and food safety is even more important than being "green".

Those are all of my thoughts for now. I will send another e-mail if I am able to think of any more comments.

Protect Insurance Companies Now!

2009-09-23T08:16:00.000-04:00

Happy 9th Anniversary

2009-09-22T12:32:00.000-04:00

Toxic Water: Coal in the Water

2009-09-15T06:44:00.005-04:00

Would you drink this water? This is a water sample from a house in Prenter, WV.

I think that the media gives too much attention to the "evils" of foreign oil and nuclear power. The horrible effects of coal is the real story. About half of this country's electricity is generated by a coal-fired power plant. It makes me sick when I hear commercials talking about "clean coal". I get pissed off when I hear President Obama talk about "clean coal" too. I hope that when the whole health care legislation is over and done with and he moves on to climate change that he emphasizes clean and renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind. Heck, I'm even in favor nuclear power. It's a lot less detrimental to the environment that coal is. It looks like the EPA is starting to crack down on mountain top removal (a travesty in its own right) and .

Here's a video from the NY Times about the effects coal is having on one West Virginia family.

Seven-year-old Ryan Massey, of Prenter, West Virginia, smiled back with capped teeth, the enamel devoured by toxic tap water. His brother sported scabs and rashes, courtesy of the heavy metals—including lead, nickel—in their bath water. Tests show that their tap water contains arsenic, barium, lead, manganese and other chemicals at concentrations federal regulators say could contribute to cancer and damage the kidneys and nervous system.”

First Day of School 2009

2009-09-09T06:41:00.004-04:00

Reusable Grocery Bags, Obama, and More

2009-09-04T06:26:00.003-04:00

Last night was my first night volunteering at my son's school selling reusable grocery bags. Our green club is selling them as a fundraiser. The school has several Back to School Nights where parents come to school, listen to the principal talk, and also meet their child's teacher for the year. The PTA is there hawking their goods and the school was selling the agendas that each student is required to purchase.

We had our table set up adjacent to the school's table with the agendas. That was a good idea because everyone attending had to stop at the school's table to purchase an agenda. I may seem kind of outspoken/outgoing on my blog, but it real life, I'm kind of on the quiet side. I'm not really much of a salesbunny either. I ended up selling about 20 bags last night (which for the amount of traffic we had isn't all that bad). One thing that worked against us is people started showing up about 15 minutes before the principal spoke. So for the parents, they seemed preoccupied with getting their agenda and getting to their seat in the cafeteria. I think we would sell more bags if we sent out an order form. Maybe we'll do that once we get into the school year a little bit. A number of people complimented the looks of the bag, which made me happy since I designed them. It would be cool if in the next few weeks I see my bags out an about at the grocery store.

During the time while the principal was speaking, things were quiet in the front lobby. The school office staff (who was selling the agendas) were chatting. They mentioned how the phones were ringing off the hooks the past couple days. I asked if it was parents asking what time the Back to School Nights started. Nope. It was people freaking out about Obama's upcoming speach to school kids.

Well, this is what they think is going to happen:

He's going to turn your children into activist haranguers for his policies.

He's turning your precious children into "kiddie human shields."

He's recruiting his own "Hitler youth brigade."

He's turning our children into Community Organizers!

He's trying to subvert the traditions and values that parents hold dear.

He's brainwashing your children into the Cult of Obama.

He's forcing children into compulsory volunteerism.

He's become our Dear Leader, and his presence in school classrooms is unprecedented.

You can disgree with Obama's politics but this is taking things too far. Here's what Obama was planning on talking about. I certainly don't see anything wrong with it. Why didn't these people protest when Reagan and Bush made similar speeches to school kids? I don't remember Democrats freaking out about a Republican president talking to our kids either. This country is fucked in the head!

I learned that the Chesterfield County School District will NOT be showing Obama's speech. For our school district, the speech will take place on the first day of school. The school claims that things are just too crazy on the first day of school to try and organize an event like this. I can certainly appreciate that fact and respect that decision. I also think that their decision was also influenced by all the phone calls the school received.

Why We Need Government-Run, Universal, Socialized, Call It Whatever You Want Health Insurance

2009-08-27T06:37:00.001-04:00

Recycling Tour

2009-08-25T16:26:00.005-04:00

Boo Jr and I went on a tour of a recycling plant that specializes in waste construction materials. It was sponsored by a professional organization that I belong to and was open to family memebers. Boo Jr said the best part of the tour was all the yummy food!

MilkMuny

2009-08-16T14:04:00.002-04:00

In the spirit of TerraCycle, MilkMuny is a startup company that turns used juice cartons into wallets. I'm hoping that the green club I volunteer for can partner with them to help recycle juice cartons and raise funds for our green club. Check out the video below and their website.

Product Review: Preserve Toothbrush

2009-08-05T19:13:00.000-04:00

More and more companies are offering products with recycled content. One such product is the Preserve toothbrush. It is made from 100% recycled plastic from yogurt cups. The company's website allows consumers to download a postage-paid label to send the toothbrush back to the company. The plastic handle is "down-cycled" into plastic lumber for picnic tables and deck material. I was able to purchase this toothbrush at my local Target for a little more than $2.00. This was even less expensive than the name brand toothbrushes typically sold.

I recommend that you give the Preserve toothbrush a try. It's less expensive than name brand toothbrushes, cleans your teeth well, and keeps waste out of our landfills. Preserve products are also manufactured in the USA. Pick one up and try one today!

Don't Be a Litterbug!

2009-08-04T08:33:00.003-04:00

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Mohandas Gandhi

Every night, after I put Boo Jr to bed, I take my dog, Sofie, for a walk. We usually walk the same route every time. We live in a pretty big housing development that has a network of walking trails. We do our walk along a path that parallels one of the main thru-fares. It always disgusted me to see all of the litter on the side of the road and thrown into the woods. In the back of my mind I would think to myself, "This looks like shit. Someone should pick this crap up." Maybe a month or so ago, I came across this quote above, and it inspired me to be that change. So for the past month, I've been picking up garbage from the road that can be recycled (soda bottles, beer cans, etc) and putting them in my recycling bins at home. Maybe I'll eventually get one of those garbage-picker-upper-thing-a-ma-bobbies and pick up the trash as well.

Organic Food Study

2009-07-31T06:45:00.003-04:00

A recently published medical study asserts that organic food is no healthier than conventional food. I think that the media is doing a disservice in the way it's presenting this story. Who buys organic because they think it's more nutritious? The study the article cited was completely irrelevant and the headline was misleading. Just because organic food isn't more nutritious doesn't mean it's not "healthier." I know I'm not going to get extra potasium eating an organic banana versus a regular one. I know I'm not going to get extra vitamins from eating organic strawberries versus eating regular ones. I know I'll be conusming less pesticides though. Even if there are studies that say it's "OK" to consume a certain level of pesticides, I'd rather keep my consumption to an absolute minimum.

The study also doesn't consider the other positive effects of organic farming. Less pesticides and such means less crap pollutes our land, water, and air. I've heard reviews for the movie Food, Inc. and they talk about people wearing hazmat suits while they're spraying produce with pesticides. Do you want to be eating this food? I'd rather not.

I Love New York/Virginia is for Lovers

2009-07-27T12:17:00.003-04:00

The Rabbit Family drove up to New York on July 16 to visit family. It usually takes us about 11 hours to get to my parents' house. We tend to take a lot of breaks to use the restroom and stretch our legs out. We always stop for lunch at the Perkins in Hazelton, PA. It's become a tradition almost. Ran into some rain and the always-present construction driving up I-81 through Pennsylvania.

We spent Friday hanging out at my wife's parents' boat on Oneida Lake. It's defininately a lot cooler up in NY compared to the heat of Virginia. I know everyone in the northeast has complained about the lack of a summer but the cool air was actually refreshing for me. We played some putt-putt and otherwise just chilled out and relaxed. It was also my father-in-law's birthday so we had a little celebration for that.

Saturday was a nicer day weather-wise. We went down to the playground at my old elementary school. My son and I had some fun climbing trees in my parents' front yard when we got back. My wife left in the afternoon to drive to Rochester to visit her friends from when we used to live there. My son and I hung out at my parents and explored in the back yard. He really liked walking barefoot in the soft grass and checking out the local insects. Ate dinner on my parents' recently remodeled deck. They had a new composite deck put in to replace the old wooden deck. Turned out really nice. After dinner, we went to Nicky Doodles on Rt 365 out towards the Turning Stone Casino. They have some great soft serve ice cream that at a good price. My wife came home very late that night and wasn't feeling well. To make a long story short, we ended up going to the ER to have her checked out.

Back to the lake on Sunday. My wife felt better to start the day off. We went for a boat ride on Oneida Lake, stopped at Eddie's for some chocolate cream pie, and walked around Sylvan Beach. My MIL bought a souvenir t-shirt for Boo Jr. Later that afternoon, my wife started feeling pretty crappy again so we headed back to my parents' house. My son stayed with my inlaws (as was the plan) and slept on the boat that night.

Given how poorly my wife was feeling, we felt it was best to cut the trip short and head back home on Monday. It was heart wrenching the following morning when we went to pick my son up and tell him we were heading home. He cried about how we told him we were spending 10 days in NY and that he didn't have a chance to give Grampa and Doddin a hug goodbye. To try and make up for cutting the trip short, we made a detour in Hershey, PA to visit Chocolate World. I was pleasantly surprised to see that parking (first two hours) and the factory tour was free. We bought some souvenirs from there as well. That seemed to lift Boo Jr's spirits some. My wife felt OK on the drive home and was quite the trooper.

We made another decision on the fly to stay overnight in Winchester, VA and visit Luray Caverns the following morning. Staying overnight in the hotel was a big treat for Boo Jr. I'm glad we did the caverns as a side trip on the way home. Even though the caverns were great, I don't think it would be worth a 2+ hour trip in and of itself. We ended up getting in to Richmond around 5:00 on Tuesday, and Lisa was starting to feel really crappy again. That seemed to validate cutting our original trip plans short.

We did some additional things at home to make up for what we missed out in NY. One thing we did was go to the Richmond Zoo. It's always a treat to feed the giraffes and see all the other animals there.

My wife saw her doctor, and between her and the ER doctor in NY, they believe that my wife caught some food poisoning. Fortunately, my wife is now feeling much better.

So it was back to work today. My son was really upset this morning when I left. He always misses me when I'm at work, but especially so now after being home for 10 days.

I'll post some pictures in a future post.

Luray Caverns

2009-07-27T06:30:00.005-04:00

One of the things we did on the drive back from New York was stop at Luray Caverns. The last time I was in some caves when I was about Boo Jr's age and went to Howe's Caverns. I was really impessed. You were given a pair of ear phones to listen to on your tour. You would enter a code at each sign along the way. They even had special audio for kids that really kept my son's interest. One neat thing was the stalagpipe organ. The organ plays music by tapping on the stalagtites. They say that people actually have their wedding down in the cavern.

Hail Storm

2009-07-27T06:21:00.002-04:00

We had a brief but violent hail storm yesterday afternoon. Gumball-sized hail with some really gusty winds buffeted the house for about 5 minutes yesterday afternoon. Good thing I brought the car inside the garage.

Another round of storms passes through about 2:00 last night with some really heavy rain, lightning, and thunder. I feel tired enough this morning having to go back to work after 10 days of vacation but an hour long thunderstorm was not what I needed last night.

Reusable Grocery Bag Logo

2009-07-13T08:38:00.003-04:00

I'm working on developing a logo to include on reusable grocery bags for my son's elementary school. I envision the school's name on the bottom with some sort of catchy saying arching over the top. I'm open to suggestions for catchy sayings and/or alternate logos. The only stipulation for the logo is that it needs to be fairly simple since only one color is allowed for the price point of the bags we're ordering. Yes - I realize the graphic below has more than one color. I envision the graphic below being all white on a green bag.

Boiler Room Graffiti

2009-07-09T08:52:00.001-04:00

The Real Republicans of 2012

2009-06-27T13:38:00.001-04:00

Site Visit Photos

2009-06-25T14:14:00.002-04:00

Shit and Piss

2009-06-24T08:22:00.001-04:00

A Father/Son Moment

2009-06-22T06:29:00.003-04:00

I've talked some about Boo Jr's developmental issues on my blog. However, I don't think I've talked much about issues with his motor skills. Boo Jr was late hitting his milestones for gross motor skills. He was Mr. Rolly-Man in order to get around instead of walking. Boo Jr was 22 months when he first started walking. He seems to be behind his peers when it comes to sports and other activities that require coordination. Not that I had any preconceived notion that my son would be an athletic superstar, but this is one area that's been frustrating for me.

We bought Boo Jr his first bicycle about 3 years ago. It didn't get used very much over the past three years. It was challenging teaching my son how to pedal. I'm sure that he was strong enough to pedal. I just think he didn't "get it". Teaching him the concept of steering was difficult too. So it wasn't the funnest thing in the world for me - guiding his handlebars with one hand while stooping over and turning the pedals with the other. The fact that it's quite hot and humid here in Richmond during the summer made it even less enjoyable. I tried my best to not let Boo Jr see my frustration but it was hard to not let it show at times. Honestly, I think the primary reason for my son not wanting to ride his bike was his lack of confidence. So we didn't puch him into riding if he didn't feel like it. Like I said, we didn't end up riding that bike much.

We bought Boo Jr a new bike about a week ago since he has outgrown his first bike. It was also a new opportunity to get him intersted in riding again. My son could pedal OK by this point but was scared to go too fast. It had been a challenge teaching him to use his brake, but was constantly using it once he learned how. He would also freeze up if he started going off-course. They talked about bicyle safety at school right before school got out so that peaked his interest again. The new bike fit him much better. I was let down though that whatever confidence he had gained with riding his first bike disappeared with his new bike.

But we had a breakthru while riding his bike yesterday. Boo Jr would constantly brake his bike and stop because he was scared. Up to this point, I had been constantly reminding him that he was wearing his helmet, that I was right there, and that I would let him crash. I needed an idea to get him to pedal faster so he could maintain his momentum. So on a flat part of the road, I challenged Boo Jr to a race. My son likes to race at everything and always has to be first. Having a race really perked up his excitement level and he really started turning those pedals. The expression of excitement and joy on his face was priceless and will be one that I will remember forever. I hope this excitement and more importantly my son's confidence in hiself continues to grow. It really made my Father's Day.

Interesting Stuffed Toy

2009-06-15T06:31:00.003-04:00

It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's Super Enema!

Going on site visits sometimes allows you to peak into the lives of other people. I'm a little voyouristic looking at the various pictures and nick-nacks that people have in their office, cube, or prison cell. Some people hang their diplomas on the wall. An inmate might have a complete chess set made from wadded up toilet paper. This attorney happened to have a stuffed enema toy.

Interesting Things You See Out In The Field

2009-06-08T16:00:00.001-04:00

Bo says, "No comment!"

2009-06-04T07:02:00.001-04:00

An Early Father's Day Present

2009-06-03T06:36:00.003-04:00

Boo Jr gave me this card which he worked on at school. His answers about me are in red.

He's as handsome as a president.

He's as smart as a nurse.

He's as tall as a person on stilts.

He's as funny as a gorilla.

He's as happy as a tiger.

He's as strong as King Kong.

He's as hungry as a shark.

He's as nice as me.

An Extra Wreath for Obama on Memorial Day

2009-05-25T16:27:00.000-04:00

ARLINGTON, Va. — President Obama observed Memorial Day on Monday just as his predecessors have: by placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier here. But Mr. Obama added a new twist: he sent a second wreath to a memorial honoring African-Americans who fought in the Civil War. President Obama took part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Presidents since Warren G. Harding have marked Memorial Day by visiting Arlington National Cemetery, where white rows of tombstones mark more than seven generations of America’s war dead. But with the nation’s first African-American president in office, a controversy erupted over Mr. Obama’s appearance this year.

Last week, a group of university professors petitioned the White House to end a longstanding practice of sending a wreath to a monument to Confederate soldiers on the cemetery grounds. Mr. Obama continued that tradition but started another, the White House said, by sending a second wreath across the Potomac River to the historically black neighborhood in Washington where the African-American Civil War Memorial commemorates more than 200,000 blacks who fought for the North in the Civil War.

Boo Jr's New Playset - Construction Photos

2009-05-17T12:51:00.010-04:00

I took Friday afternoon off from work to get a head start on assembling Boo Jr's new Cedar Works play set. Good thing because it took me a long time. The set came with really good instructions, but it was a very time consuming process for just one person. It took a fair amount of effort getting the structure and all of the ramps and ladders to sit properly on my sloped yard. Lots of deck screws and lag bolts to be screwed in too. Boy, is my shoulder sore! Sweat my ass off too. I put together the two main structures Friday afternoon. Got an early start on Saturday and got it about 90% complete. I still need to attach all of the "rocks" to the rock wall, adjust the rope ladder, and attach the knotted climbing rope. One of the roof panels for the small structure got damaged during shipping, so Cedar Works is sending me a replacement panel. Boo Jr is really enjoying the playset so far. I'll be sure to post more photos showing him enjoying his new playset. It's raining today (Sunday) so the playset will have to wait until next weekend to be 100% complete. Here are some photos documenting my hard work.

UPDATE - I got the new roof panel delivered yesterday. I took today (Friday) off from work. I put the roof on the smaller structure, added all the rocks to the rock wall, attached the knoted rope, and added a layer of mulch underneath each structure. So basically I'm all done now. Even though the play set is definately expensive, so far it's been worth every penny. The quality and ease of installation of the Cedar Works playset is definately better than any other play set out there.

The Adventures of Flat Stanley

2009-05-14T11:51:00.027-04:00

I left Midlothian in a mail truck and traveled through Maryland and Pennsylvania before arriving in Oneida, New York.

The mailman put me in Doddin’s mail box. Doddin is Boo Jr’s grandma.

Doddin showed me lots when I stayed with her. I visited the city of Oneida.

The city is named after the Oneida Indians who lived there before anyone else.

New York grows lots of apple trees. They have pretty flowers in the spring and produce apples in the fall to put in my lunch box.

I saw maple trees that make sap in the spring. It gets collected in a pail and is made into maple syrup to put on pancakes.

The leaves on the maple trees turn from green in the summer to colorful in the fall.

Oneida Lake is the largest lake entirely within New York State.

Oneida Lake is popular for boating and swimming.

People go there to fish in the summer...

… and even in the winter. The fishermen drill holes in the ice to catch the fish. A car can be driven on the ice because it is so strong.

Oneida gets LOTS of snow in the winter.

There are three wind farms near Oneida that produce clean, renewable electricity.

I saw the school and playground where Boo Jr’s Daddy went to school.

Doddin is a really busy person. I sat with the band while the musicians practiced for a concert.

This is me on the treadmill at the YMCA.

I saw the gym and the swimming pool.

These weights were very heavy.

I went to the library to pick out a DVD and a book.

Doddin read the book to me before I went to bed.

Doddin tucked me in bed every night after I brushed my teeth.

Some days I went to work with Doddin.

Here I am going for a ride in a New York State Police car.

Doddin is a really hard worker.

I liked the vending machine best.

Some days I helped Jack’s Grandpa do yard work. Grandpa cooks too. This is what we made together.

Doddin, Grandpa and I flew on an airplane to Denver, Colorado.

Grandpa and I made sure to buckle up.

We stopped in Washington, DC on the way and had my picture taken with President Obama.

When we arrived I got to see the Rocky Mountains.

This is Bryson, Boo Jr’s cousin. He’s only two years old.

I made friends with his dog, Jake.

Bryson and I went to the park to swing and go down the slide.

On Sunday, we went to church. Doddin sings in the choir.

After church, Doddin gave me a hug and kiss goodbye and put me in the mailbox to go back to Virginia. I had a great time spending time with her. Doddin was sad to see me go.

Prison Graffiti

2009-05-13T13:48:00.001-04:00

I'm glad that our prisons are developing a new generation of artisists. Click on the picture to enlarge.

My Terrible, Rotten, No Good Day

2009-05-01T06:16:00.002-04:00

We received more bad news at Forest Animals A/E yesterday with the announcement of more layoffs. If you remember, it was back in December when we had our first round of layoffs. Those layoffs were intended to get us through until the end of 2009 with the hopes that the economy would turn around by then. Unfortunately, there have been numerous changes to our current work load and backlog of work. We had to stop work on about $6 million worth of work because clients asked us to stop working while they figure out their budgets. Other projects that have been awarded to us have been further delayed for similar reasons. It seems that there have been delays in the stimulus money getting to where it needs to go. Often times the states and local governments are using money that is supposed to go to renovating schools and building prisons and using it instead to shore up other parts of their budgets. The federal government is looking into this misuse of the stimulus money, but that's just causing further delays. Owners are halting work on projects because they are unsure of their budget situations.

We still continue to win projects but the competition is very fierce. When normally there'd be a dozen companies competing for a job, now there are more than three dozen. We now have to compete with some of the largest A/E firms in the country because they're also scrounging for work. Our firm is also "lowering our standards" by going after small renovation jobs that we would normally not consider.

The firm laid off about a dozen more workers in the Richmond office and probably a dozen or more amongst our other offices. The first round of layoffs got rid of some good workers but was mostly comprised of the lower achieving and least dedicated workers. This round was much more difficult because the people let go this time were all good workers and dedicated employees. But when the work isn't coming in the door, someone has to go.

Most of us knew that the bad news was coming about a week prior to this meeting where the layoffs were announced. You could tell from the mood in the office. A lot of those same behaviors were taking place - people looking around wondering who might be let go; people being a bit more friendly by saying hi. We moved into our new office last fall and we were almost right at capacity. But now, with the reduction in the workforce, it's feeling quite empty.

I just feel so bad for those that lost their job. They were good workers and good people. I can't help but feel the same feelings when I got laid off (twice) earlier in my career. I worry for them even more so because the economy is in much worse shape now compared to the two times that I got laid off. I feel most sad for one woman who is a single mother with a 7 year old son. It must be terrible to have to go home and tell your son that, "Mommy lost her job."

So the good news is that I still have a job. The bad news is that they reduced everyone's salary by 5%. I'm likely more fortunate than a lot of people with the salary that I make. But going from the pay freeze at the beginning of the year to now having to deal with a pay reduction is going to hurt. My family is going to have to go from reducing our discretionary spending to practically eliminating it. For example, we likely will no longer send Boo Jr to summer art camp to save ourselves $150. It's also doubtful that we will make a trip back up to NY this summer. That will save us several hundred dollars.

I'm hoping that the company will still promote people to Associate and Senior Associate this year. The timing of these announcement have changed in the past few years so I'm not sure when that might happen. I do know that I have been nominated to the Board of Directors to made Senior Associate. If I do get that promotion in title, the company will pay 100% of my health care premiums, so that would help considerably offsetting the 5% reduction in pay.

So my thoughts go out to my recently laid off co-workers. I will miss you all and I hope that you aren't out of work very long. Take care.

Wash Your Hands!

2009-04-27T08:08:00.000-04:00

Plugging in School Buses

2009-04-22T06:58:00.002-04:00

Happy Earth Day eveyone! Here's a snippet from A Siegel's diary on Daily Kos about recent measures the Obama administration is taking:

Hybrids are too often thought of simply in terms of personal vehicles.

They are also penetrating the big vehicle market space. Consider the average delivery truck and all its starts/stops. There is a lot of energy to capture there, which is why UPS is pursuing hybrids. And, as per Walmart and its hybrid trucks, they are hitting the semi-trailer world. There are also efforts to apply hybrids to trash trucksand offer the opportunity to silence those squealing brakes at 5:45 am. Ann Arbor, Michigan, has started to get hybrid buses as is London. And, well, now they're coming to a school system (maybe) near you.

The Department of Energy just announced $10 million to go to another round of plug-in school bus development, to fund some 60 buses in a second round of testing.

For a number of years, there has been a Plug-In Hybrid Electric school Bus (PHEB, though I prefer PHESB) test program.

Last week, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a $10 million grant to Navistar to fund about half the program to build and test some 60 PHEBs

"These projects will help move technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace by improving their durability, reducing their costs, and validating their performance in real-world settings," said Secretary Chu. "By investing in the vehicles of the future, we will create new jobs while reducing our dependence on foreign oil and improving our environment."

This is great, that there is more money going into this arena and that PHEBs are on the Secretary's radar scope.

Garage Sale

2009-04-21T06:46:00.002-04:00

Our development had a garage sale this past Saturday, and it was a beautiful day for it. Sunny and 80. We has spent the past several days dragging stuff out of the attic, getting items priced, and things organized. All of the stuff we were selling was Boo Jr's baby stuff as well as clothes and toys he has outgrown. We got up at 6:00 so we can get everything carried outside for when the sale started at 9:00. We didn't get our first customer until about 10:30. I was really disappointed. Some people would circle by the house, see that we just had baby stuff, and would keep driving on. Traffic soon picked up and we started selling some stuff. We sold a fair amount of Boo Jr's clothes. Sole some baby stuff too like a car seat, high chair, and crib set. We didn't sell any of the big ticket items like the Pack-and-Play or the McLaren stroller. Some of the parents would let their kids buy an item or two. One kid (about 2-years old) bought a tiger flashlight. It opens its mouth and growls when you squeeze its tail. The kid's face just lit up when he tried it, like he just made a new friend. Overall, we made about $125. We're going to use that money to send Boo Jr to a summer theater camp.

Pardon Our Dust

2009-04-17T08:09:00.000-04:00

As you can see, I'm working on a new template for my blog. I'll be working on adding my old links and new some new, cool features over the next several days.

Thanks for your patience!

Thank You For Shopping!

2009-04-16T06:36:00.004-04:00

Over the past several months, since the time there's been no doubt that we're in a deep recession, I've noticed that sales clerks and store personnel seem to be a lot friendlier and helpful. My wife has especially noticed that at JCPenney and Target. Even the normally friendly and helpful people at Ukrops seem to be friendlier and more helpful.

Businesses also seem to be doing more to try and drum up more business. I normally take my car to Midas for my car's oil change. Midas has never called me before to remind me I'm do for an oil change. But I got a call from them a couple days ago, three months to the day of my last oil change, to remind me that I'm due for an oil change and if I'd like to set up an appointment. Just yesterday, I got an offer from Verizon in the mail if I want to extend my current bundle package (tv, internet, and phone) for another year for $99/month (1 year committment). My current package deal doesn't even run out for another year. And when I first signed up, I was worried I'd have to threaten to cancel my service in order to get a good deal again. Guess I was wrong.

A Cool Spring Day

2009-04-15T16:32:00.002-04:00

Bunny Cup Cakes

2009-04-11T15:30:00.000-04:00

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

2009-04-10T10:36:00.000-04:00

It is roughly the size of Texas, containing approximately 3.5 million tons of trash. Shoes, toys, bags, pacifiers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and bottles too numerous to count are only part of what can be found in this accidental dump floating midway between Hawaii and San Francisco. It is estimated that 80% of the garbage comes from land-based sources, and 20% from ships at sea. Ocean currents carry debris from the east coast of Asia to the center of the gyre in about five years, and debris from the west coast of North America in a year or less

As the plastic garbage degrades into smaller and smaller pieces and disintegrates, the plastic ultimately becomes small enough to be ingested by aquatic organisms which reside near the ocean's surface. Plastic waste then enters the food chain and may eventually be consumed by humans. So please recycle, reduce the amount of plastics you use, and make sure you dispose of your trash properly.

Tesla Unvails First Mass-Produced, Highway Capable Electric Car

2009-04-02T22:16:00.000-04:00

March 26, 2009

HAWTHORNE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE) —Tesla Motors is now taking orders for the Model S, an all electric family sedan that carries seven people and travels 300 miles per charge.

The Model S, which carries its charger onboard, can be recharged from any 120V, 240V or 480V outlet, with the latter taking only 45 minutes. By recharging their car while they stop for a meal, drivers can go from LA to New York in approximately the same time as a gasoline car. Moreover, the floor-mounted battery pack is designed to be changed out in less time than it takes to fill a gas tank, allowing for the possibility of battery-pack swap stations.

The floor-mounted powertrain also results in unparalleled cargo room and versatility, as the volume under the front hood becomes a second trunk. Combining that with a four-bar linkage hatchback rear trunk and flat folding rear seats, the Model S can accommodate a 50-inch television, mountain bike *and* surfboard simultaneously. This packaging efficiency gives the Model S more trunk space than any other sedan on the market and more than most SUVs.

“Model S doesn’t compromise on performance, efficiency or utility -- it’s truly the only car you need,” said Tesla CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk. “Tesla is relentlessly driving down the cost of electric vehicle technology, and this is just the first of many mainstream cars we’re developing.”

Tesla expects to start Model S production in late 2011. The company believes it is close to receiving $350 million in federal loans to build the Model S assembly plant in California from the Dept of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program.

Stellaluna

2009-03-28T11:45:00.003-04:00

I learned about Stellaluna when my son and I were in Barenes and Noble. Boo Jr had received a gift card for his birthday and we were checking out books to buy. I noticed this book on display because it is by the same author that wrote Verdi. Boo Jr decided not to get this book and got a couple other books instead.

Fastforeward a week. My wife and I had a meeting with Boo Jr's teacher. At the end of the meeting, she talked about this website called Storyonline. Actors from the Screen Actors Guild read children's books. So I checked out the site and one of the books was Stellaluna. It's about a baby bat that gets separated from her mother and is raised by birds. Boo Jr loved the book so much that she asked the librarian about it on Friday. I was very proud of him that he remembered the name of the book and asked the librarian to find it for him.

Check out the website yourself and listen to Stellaluna. There are lots of other great stories available to listen to too.

Fight Athlete's Foot with Sani-Mist!

2009-03-17T14:54:00.001-04:00

7th Birthday Party

2009-03-15T19:06:00.004-04:00

Boo Jr celebrated his 7th birthday a little early with friends and family. Here he is with his Kung Fu Panda cake.

Dr. Seuss Parade

2009-03-07T10:27:00.003-05:00

March 2009 Snow Storm

2009-03-02T14:38:00.003-05:00

Green Club News

2009-02-28T07:58:00.002-05:00

As some of you know, I volunteer for my son's elementary school's green club. It has been a very rewarding experiencing working with like minded parents and teachers to encourage sustainable practices at our school. The thing that I'm most excited about is the blog I created. I feel it has great potential for dispensing information to students, teachers, and parents alike. It's been challenging getting the word out and getting people to participate. I think that most people aren't use to the blog interface and the concept of blogging in general. But the green club is just new this year, and I can't expect too much so soon.

Here are some great things we've been able to accomplish so far this year:

We've started a battery recycling program. So far, we've recycled over 100 pounds of batteries that would otherwise be polluting our landfills.
Some other things we're recycling are Elmer's glue sticks, printer cartridges, and paper in the classroom.
We had a "Commit to Recycling Drive" and asked families to sign a pledge to commit to recycling at home. Over 250 families have committed this year.
Speaking of recycling, we just introduced a recyling program in our cafeteria. We now have recycling bins for cans, bottles, and juice pouches. There's a lot more potential for waste reduction in the cafeteria that we're continuing to work on.
For Earth Day, we're going to have a magazine recyle drive. People will bring in used magazines, and we will reuse them and distribute them to senior citizen homes and other similar places. During Earth Week, the kids will announce a "Tip of the Day" during the morning announcements. We're selling t-shirts for the kids to wear on Earth Day. It will also act as our very first fund raiser. We will make $1 for every shirt sold. To round things out, the kids will have a poster contest and will watch The Lorax movie.
Looking to the future, our pie-in-the-sky is to conduct an energy audit of the school. The school is about 20 years old and is ripe for enery conservation. It will be easy to identify things that can be done to save energy. It will be much more difficult to get the school and the school district to cooperate and actual complete these measures.

State of the Firm (2008)

2009-02-17T06:25:00.002-05:00

The President of Forest Animals A/E gives an annual State of the Firm address to discuss the financial performance of the previous year and to talk about our goals and projections for the coming year. Normally, it starts off with some hoopla with music and fun, but this year was different. With the state of the economy and layoffs only a few short months ago, fun and games weren't appropriate.

The presentation always starts off with a movie of highlights from the past year's projects. I'm always on the lookout for one of my projects. Our president then got into the numbers. We discuss our gross and net revenues, the percentage which goes to consultants, percentage spent on marketing, the number of proposals sent out vs the numer of interview vs the number of wins, etc. In most aspects, 2008 was actually a record year for us as we grossed over $60 million, just slightly more than last year. We would have broken the record by a much greater margin if we didn't have that drammatic slow down during the last quarter.

Looking into the future was a big topic of discussion. Typically, we average about a $100 million backlog of work. For 2009, it has reduced down to about $35 million. These are jobs with a signed contract that we still have the green light to work on. We do have about another $70 million worth of work that we have been awarded but have been told not to work on yet until the Owner (typically state or local government) know what their funding situation will be. A county government isn't going to build a new elementary school while facing a budget shortfall and is contemplating laying off teachers. Our president feels that the stimulus package should help move more of the "B" column back over to the "A" column. A doomsday scenario would be to actually "lose" jobs out of the "A" column. "Stop working on that new jail job. We don't have the funds to pay you any more."

The President gave us a pep talk/quick in pants to try and boost our morale. The slowdown in work has affected some more than others. I'm sure those that are light on work (certainly not me) are worried that they'll be next to be laid off. Our president told everyone that we should not slow down to drag these projects on so we can look busy. We need to continue to work efficiently so we remain profitable. If people are going to slack off in that manner then they can leave and work some place else. It was a little bit of tough love that makes good business sense.

We looked at patterns from past recessions and learned that most recession last about 18 - 24 months. It looks like this one will last 24 - 30 months. The layoffs we made were to position ourselves for this current economic climate. We needed to trim down so we could be leaner and meaner. Some of the belt tightening that had already been announced was salary freezes and suspending thr company match for the 401k. Additionally, they announced a much less extravagent company picnic and Christmas party, tighter restrictions on company credit cards, and spending less money sponsoring scholarships and conferences.

In conjunction with the stimulus package, we're looking into some new marketplaces for our A/E services. One new market will be federal/military work. Norfolk (navy) is just down the road, and there are plenty of military bases in VA and NC. Forest Animals A/E used to do federal and military work in the past but got away from it for some reason. We're actively looking for a "rain maker" to help us develop relationships and win projects in that market place. We're also looking into partnering with performance energy contractors to conduct energy audits of existing buildings. Renovating/modernizing government buildings and making them energy efficient was one thing consistantly mentioned in his stimulus package. I think we will be well positioned to take part in that.

The meeting wrapped up confirming our committment to green design. Our firm is the leader in green design in this part of the country and is one of the leaders in green design in the entire country. Sustainable design is the future and we've been doing it for years. I left the meeting feeling more optimistic about 2009 and even more so for 2010.

Boo Jr's Boo-Boo (1 week)

2009-02-15T08:30:00.001-05:00

Random Thoughts and Observations

2009-02-11T05:31:00.003-05:00

Wow! Ever since Boo Jr and my wife for sick last November, it's been a non-stop stress-fest. Things have only gotten busier for me at work after the layoffs in December. I haven't really had much free time to put any thoughts together to post on my blog. What thoughts I do have I typically share on the Yada Forum. So here are some quick, random thoughts and observations:

There are a lot more people with vanity tags in Virginia compared to other places. A large majority of them are religious in nature. I've seen "BOW2GZS", "HEVN4ME", "PRZB2JC". It's like a little game figuring some of them out. It also helps you identify cars that you see every day on the way to/from work. I'm not a very religious person, and I understand religion is very important to some people, but putting a religious message on your license plate seems a bit much.
One positive thing that's been going on is the experience I've been having volunteering at my son's elementary school. It's been a good diversion from all the crap that's been going on in the world. This will be the second year that I'll participate in the annual Career Day. I plan on giving the same presentation that I did last year. We play Jeopardy! at the end of my presentation with real game show equipment buzzers. The kids love it. I got some really great thank you letters from last year. I happened to check my flash drive recently and noticed that the power point presentation was deleted. I'll have to look more closely before I go recreating it again.
I also volunteer for my son's green club. There's another parent volunteer that is very knowledgable about sustainable design and green issues. She's very enthusiastic like me in coming up with activities for the kids to learn about protecting our environment as well as working directly with the school. One of more ambitious plans is to do an energy audit of the school and propose some energy conservation measures. One of the teacher volunteers had stated they're worried if they'll have enough paper to make it through the year because of all the budget cuts. We pointed out that there are a lot of pretty easy things the school could do to reduce energy consumption and reduce the amount of waste generated. It's been hard getting buy-in from the teachers because they tend to get scared off by our ambitious plans. For example, the school is about 20 years old and still uses T12 fluorescent light bulbs. If they invest a little money and install ballast adapters so they can use T8 light bulbs, they'd see a really quick return on investment. I also started a blog for the Green Club. I've received a lot of praise from the teachers on it, but it's been hard getting the word out and getting people to participate in discussions on the blog. The battery recycling program that I started in the fall has been a huge success though. Baby steps.
Boo Jr had a writing assignment about what he wanted to be when he grows up. He said he wanted to be a cook because he likes food. He talked about some of the foods he likes and then concluded with, "I'm going to be balled (bald)". Kids say the dardest things.
Things have been really busy at work lately. I've got three main projects going on. One is a jail study for a 2,000 bed prison renovation/addition. The report is the first step in getting state funding for construction. The report has a hard and fixed deadline because the funding is actually becomes part of the state budget that is passed in the spring. Doing the report doesn't guarantee that the project will be approved by the state or that my company will do the design, but the projects are usually approved and doing the report increases our chances of getting the design. My second job is a renovation project for a local university. We're converting an old, unused dormatory into a tech center. They'll teach tv and radio production and will have real, working tv and radio studios. The data center for the entire campus will also be housed in the building. The project is going for LEED - Silver. I plan on specifying these really cool induction boxes with non-condensing cooling coils. They're super-energy efficient. I always enjoy designing systems I haven't used before. The project is going to be really challenging because it's a renovation. The last job is one of the biggest jobs I've ever done - a brand new 800 bed prison. It will be one of only a handful LEED registered prisons in the country. The due date for this project is only a couple months away, so it's really been crunch time lately. It's been challenging balancing these three jobs along with my CA duties for the half dozen or so other jobs that are currently under construction.
I've been paying close attention to the stimulus package trying to make its way through Congress. I'm excited about the potential of it designating funding for renovating our schools and government office building, improving building efficiency, and creating green jobs. I hope that the states get a lot of funding from the federal government as well. That's the problem my company has been facing. We are fortunate to have a decent backlog of work, but the government is postponing us working on these projects because of the financial crisis. If we're not working on designing buildings then we don't have money coming in. Our State of the Firm will be this Friday, and I'm sure our president will have a lot to say on that topic.
Boo Jr continues to heal well from his head injury. He's been upset that we've pulled him out of recess and PE for the week. We don't want to risk him bonking his head and opening up his stitches. He also had a small concussion, so getting bonked in the head is the last thing we need. He has a follow up appointment with the doctor on Friday to check out his stitches.
Boo Jr and I do the grocery shopping every Sunday. I'm very proud of my son for his good manners as he'll say, "excuse me" when he needs to get by someone. Most everyone looks pleasantly surprised and smiles when they see a kid with good manners. But this one lady gave him the nastiest look last week. I wanted to ask her who pissed in her corn flakes that morning.

Locks of Love

2009-02-03T05:24:00.001-05:00

My wife recently had her hair cut short and is donating her hair to Locks of Love.

My Thoughts on the Inauguration

2009-01-20T06:36:00.004-05:00

I'll be doing my best to catch bits and pieces of the Inauguration at work. We have flat screen tvs in the conference rooms at our new office. I'd like to watch the swearing in and listen to Obama's speech. I bet (because of no tv, internet, etc) at the time that even FDR didn't have as much pressure to fix some big mess that the country is in. Although I think that Obama is doing a good job so far assembling his cabinet and such that at least part of his high poll numbers are due to that fact that "he's not George Bush". Bush has got to be the absolute worst president in history.

I think the first 100 days will be quite exciting. I hope that Obama will role out ambitious programs to get this country back on track. I think it would be more dangerous to not "go big enough" than to go "too big". I feel excited because we will be living history. I'm sure Obama will do a lot of symbolic (and important) things during his first few days like closing Gitmo, proving funding for stem cell research, and many other things that he can accomplish by presidential proclamation.

Even though the Democrats made some big gain in Congress this past election, I'm more worries about *them* than I am about Obama. I fear there's going to be too much bickering and things won't get done quickly. I'm sure the Republicans will try and throw wrenches in the works. And I'm sure the Democrats will continue to suffer from lack of organization, leadership, and backbone. Sometimes they just need to grow a pair.

Selfishly speaking, I hope that the government designates a lot of funds towards making our schools and public office building more modern and energy efficient. A lot of our clients have projects on hold. Some are designed and are waiting to be built. Others have a definite need and are waiting to be designed but lack the necessary funding. I hope that Obama uses his head and puts more of the money towards projects that have a long lasting and POSITIVE impact instead of building more roads and bridges that only encourage people to drive more. I'm all for fixing up the potholes and repairing the bridges too, but no more new roads please.

I wish President Obama the best of luck. I hope that Congress, state, and local governments work together with Obama to craft solutions to our nation's problems - protecting our environment, providing quality health care, restoring our rights as citizens, and most importantly getting our nation out of this financial crisis and back on the road to recovery. May President Obama have the guidance he needs to right our ship and steer it in a new and better direction (someplace besides the bottom of the sea where we're currently heading).

Updated Courthouse Construction Photos

2009-01-05T12:14:00.004-05:00

Photo 1: View from Judge's Bench

Photo 2" Kevlar fabric layered in Judge's bench

Photo 3: Motorized flat screen displays for Jury Box

Photo 4: Public Records Room

Photo 5: Public Corridor

Photo 6: Front of Courthouse (notice the Confederate War Memorial that's in front of EVERY courthouse in Virginia)

Living the Life of Reilly

2009-01-02T08:11:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tree Photo Contest - Results

2008-12-30T06:41:00.004-05:00

4thefun was the only person to correctly guess all of the photos and is the winner of this year's Christmas Tree Photo Contest. Thanks to everyone who sent photos and who participated in the contest. I will post a photo of the prize (a photo of an original piece of Boo Jr artwork) at a later date.

Christmas Tree Photo Contest

2008-12-22T06:39:00.008-05:00

Match the person with the picture:

1. DK

2. ZZ

3. FosterDad

4. BadRabbit

5. Jatkat

6. MDM

Field Report

2008-12-19T06:36:00.002-05:00

I was out the in the filed all day yesterday visiting three different job sites. The first thing I do when I go on these all day trips is stop at Mc D's and pick up a sausage mc griddle and a coffee. The first stop I made was at a major jail addition. They've made a lot of progress since the last time I was out there a couple months ago. The site was pretty muddy from all the recent rain. Good thing I had my work boots on. It's amazing seeing a job that you've spent so much time on come to life. The Contractor had many of the Housing Unit Mechanical Rooms installed so I was eager to see how they turned out. The biggest complaint the jail had about the original design was how congested and inaccessible the existing mechanical rooms are. It was a Hurculean task because not only did I need to improve the original design, I had to add an additional 10 pounds of shit into the 5 pound bag. I was very impressed with how well it turned out. Joe Maintenance Guy has pretty good access to the ERUs to service the filters, motors, and coils.

After a couple hours on site at the first job, I drove on to my second job - a courthouse renovation/expansion. This job is almost complete and will likely be my last visit to the site. All of the walls are painted, the carpet and tile on the floor is installed, etc. The only work being now is the controls, security electronics, and TAB work. I noticed a few issues with equipment access, which I'm always a stickler for. What is the Contractor thinking when he installs a VAV box with the control panel smack up against a wall? Even if my drawings showed it that way (which they didn't) for God's sake don't install it that way! Send me an RFI so we can figure out what's the best way to install it. I look at a lot of the architectural stuff too as well as my mechanical work. I notice little features like the judge's desk being lined with Kevlar so the judge can hide under his desk in case there's a gunman in the courtroom. The jury box has flat screen panels that rise out of the railing so the jurors can review evidence. Courthouses are getting pretty high tech.

On to my third job. Got to my final destination around 2:15 and finally grabbed lunch. The last job is an academic building for a new community college campus. One of things that jumped out at me was the wood ceiling tiles in the main lobby. They look so rich and warm! Another thing I noticed was the results of my efforts to incorporate my mechanical design more seamlessly into the architecture. All of the drywall has long since been put up and many of the rooms have been painted. The third floor is almost completed too. Cabinetwork and lab sinks have been installed in many of the classrooms. There's even a classroom to simulate a dentist's office to train dental hygienists. I left my last site around 4:30 so it was getting darm by the time I left. Got home around 5:45. I'll spend a good chunk of today writing up my site visit reports.

More Talk About the Layoffs

2008-12-10T06:31:00.002-05:00

I had a little sense of relief coming to work today. The bad news is done and over now (for a while at least). The first thing that struck me when I got to work was the empty name plates on the people's cubes. There's something very personal about a person's name. So to see their name missing made the layoffs all that more real. The work spaces were clear of their personal items, and their computers were taken back to the IT department so they could be "reformatted" for the next person.

I have to remind myself that this was a business decision that had to be made. There rarely is ever a person who "deserves" to be laid off. It seems that each person that was cut has some sort of personal story. Some were kids fresh out of school. Others were older people that have been around the block many times. It's especially hard thinking about those with small kids and families. But we all fit in that boat, and it wouldn't be possible to lay anyone off if you look at their personal situation.

But life must go on, and work has to get done. The projects that those people were working on were reassigned to other people. We lost one of our MEP/CA guys so I'll have to pick up the slack answering more RFIs and going out in the field more often to review the Contractor's work. It feels weird having to rummage through someone else's files. You can tell people are feeling guilty about having a job while some of our coworkers (and many other people) have lost their jobs.

Our president said that he's hoping that things will start improving in late 2009, and the cuts made reflected that belief. We'll be keeping a closer eye out for RFPs that we might not have gone after in the past. Firms are coming from out of state into the region that we serve looking for work. There was a firm from Nebraska competing for a North Carolina school job that we were also competing for.

Another interesting thing I noticed was how much more personable people were in the weeks leading up to the big announcement and during the days after. People (myself included) were more apt to say "good morning" or "how's it going" while passing in the hallway (not that we were a bunch of trolls prior to this by any stretch of the imagination).

Our studio engineering leader reaffirmed that those that were let go were let go due to performance reasons. They weren't necessarily poor workers, but were in the unfortunate position of being lower performing than the rest of their coworkers. For those people that I worked with on a project, I was only surprised about only one person that was let go. Otherwise, I was in agreement with the tough choices that were made.

So I think the rest of December will be kind of a downer in the office. The studio that I'm in is fortunate to still be pretty busy. The main project in 2009 for us will be a new $100 million prison and sounds like it will be one of the biggest projects that I'll be involved in to date. I hope that the local and state governments get much needed funding from the federal government. We've got a tremendous backlog of work. As I stated before, the problem is that they are not having us start the designs for those projects due to lack of funding resulting from the drastic cutbacks that the local and state governments have made. January 20, 2009 can't come soon enough.

The Failing Economy

2008-12-09T06:21:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a sad day at Forest Animals A/E. We said goodbye to 40 or so workers who became the latest victims of this failing economy. These workers represented about 15% of our total employee base. The layoffs were strategically made to try and position the company better for what's to come in 2009.

The layoffs weren't totally unexpected. Several weeks ago, our president announced that cuts were going to be made. I guess, during this time period, they were figuring out how many people needed to be laid off and which employees would be let go. Everyone knew that something would happen at this meeting because yesterday's meeting had been announced last week.

You could feel the tension in the air during the weeks leading up to this meeting. I'm sure people were looking at each other thinking, "John might not be working here next week." Or even, "I might be out of a job soon." No one was really lacking work, but everyone realized the state of the economy and the anticipated slow down in work for us in 2009. Our firm has a large backlog of work and we continue to win new projects. The problem is that out clients (schools, prisons, local and state government) do not have the funding available for us to work on them. They've delayed the starts of those projects until they have their funding in order. Most of these entities are required to keep a balanced budget, so they delay projects like the design and construction of a new elementary school.

There was no detail given how the layoffs would happen. On Monday morning, the department heads were walking around and asking certain people to come with them. From experience, I could tell that these were the people getting laid off. Even though I was nervous, having been laid off twice before in my life, I felt cautiously optimisitc about my own job security. A few weeks ago, my boss had mentioned to me that he was planning to nominate me for Senior Associate. I figured that was a pretty good indicator that my job was safe.

So at about 9:00 the people being laid off were gathered together in our large conference room. At about 9:30, all the remaining people were asked to assemble in the gymnasium. Our President announced that the layoffs had just been made and explained what was going to happen to them, the rest of us, and the company as a whole. No one wants anyone to lose their job, but I was glad to hear that those being laid off were given a severance package based on seniority. Our president tried to calm everyone else's fear that these layoffs would be the first of many by stating that these are the only layoffs that they have planned. The company felt that the recession would affect us until late 2009, and these layoffs needed to be made as a result. Obviously, if the economy gets far worse then other layoffs might be necessary. Our president stated his optimism that our company will weather the rest of this storm and will come out well positioned and stronger once the economy rebounds. We're a leader in green design. Hopefully, Obama's plan to modernize schools and government office buildings and provide a rescue package for state and local governments will help those projects that are currently on the back burner move back to the front burner.

All the rest of the day, I watched the results of what happened this morning. Those that got laid off were sadly packing up their things. Fellow employeed (including myself) tried to comfort those that were leaving and to give them our support. There were a few layoffs that surprised me and/or were people that I worked really closely with. Even though many of these people were "only work friends", I felt immensely sad inside. I felt sad for those workers and their families that rely on them. I felt sad remembering how I felt the two times I had been laid off. The second time I was laid off was when my wife was 8-months pregnant with Boo Jr. It was that layoff that forced us to move away from New York and to move down south where I could find a job.

Probably the next week or so will be kind of a mourning period at work. We're a really tight family at Forest Animals A/E. It's a really good company. But even good companies like ours are being hurt hard by the economy right now. The company had to make this tough decision to lay these good folks off in order to keep treading water. January 20, 2009 can't come soon enough.

Dear Santa

2008-12-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

I've been a very good boy this year. Bring me LOTS of presents!

Christmas Tree Photo Contest

2008-11-28T16:46:00.002-05:00

Many of us (myself included) are putting up our Christmas trees this weekend. Send me a picture of your Christmas tree and I will post it on my blog. We can guess which tree belongs to which person. Send photos to rabbitramblings at gmail dot com. The winner will get a copy of an original piece of artwork made by Boo Jr. If you don't celebrate Christmas, feel free to send in a picture of another holiday decoration.

Rabbit Family Update

2008-11-20T06:29:00.002-05:00

It's been very hectic around here lately. I don't think I blogged about it, but many of you know that Boo Jr was in the hospital back in late October. He had a bad intestinal bug and was kept in the hospital for observation and IV support. He was in the hospital for three nights. I stayed with him most of the time (just going home to shower and walk the dog) and slept on the other hospital bed at night. My wife was also sick during this time. In fact, I had to bring her to the ER in the middle of the night while my son was still in the hospital. My son soon got better and came home. They never really determined what caused him to get sick. Boo Jr got sick again the past week with a 24-hour puke bug. I think he just had a lot of mucous drain into his stomach, and that's what upset him. Fortunately, he seems to be back to normal.

My wife has continued to be sick all of this time since my son was in the hospital. My wife has been experiencing many of the same sypmtoms too. She has some other symptoms as well that my son didn't have. We've made several trips to her doctor and have been to the ER a few times (usually in the middle of the night). She has been on so many different medicines. I think I should buy some stock in Walgreens! My wife is allergic to many medicines and doesn't tolerate well many other medicines. The fact that she hasn't been getting better has really worn on her and the family as a whole. We're going to a GI today for a consult. It would really help if we could get a definately diagnoses and a definite treatment plan. I think not knowing what the problem is is what's really weighing on my wife's mind.

All of the above has been really stressful for me. Obviously, I'm stressed that my loved ones were/are sick and I want them to feel better. But I'm also being stressed by other stuff going on. I've been really busy at work and having to take time off from work to take care of my family has made work stressful. Fortunately, I've managed to keep up with everything, but it's just another thing in my brain to fret about.

The economy has really got me worried too. Even though I'm busy at work, that doensn't mean I'm immune to being laid off. Some potential good news my boss told me earlier this week is that he plans to nominate me to be made Senior Associate. That's good because then it's less likely I'd be laid off (ie - my boss wouldn't nominate me if he was targeting me to be laid off). One of the benefits of making Senior Associate is that your health care premiums are paid at 100% (even for a family policy). This would be a big bonus for me. It would also help out considering that our company has temporarily suspended matching 401k contributions and have frozen our salaries. Making it more likely that I will be made Senior Associate is the fact that the company is strongly considering expanding the engineering department to serve two of our other offices. I am the person my boss has in mind to lead this department. This was an idea that I had presented to my bosses at my most recent performance appraisal. So it would be great if all of this happens. Good stuff, certainly, but it has added to my stress level.

Other random news:

I volunteer at as an environmental coordinator for my son's elementary school. I started a battery recycling program, and we recycled almost 50 pounds of batteries during the month of October. I expect being that that was the first month of the program that we collect much fewer batteries in the coming months. But maybe I will be surprised just like I was surprised at how many batteries we recycled to start with.
Speaking of people not feeling well - even Sofie has her problems. She's has a hot spot on her front leg that she keeps licking. It was getting sore looking so she's been "Cone Dog" for the past week or so while it heals up.
Some good news from work is that we will still be getting our bonuses. I usually treat myself to a little something and plan on getting a couple new Porcupine Tree CDs. The rest of it was originally going to go to a new mattress. Now it looks like much of the bonus will be sent on medical bills. Sigh...

I sure hope everyone else out there is healthy and have been weathering this bad economy. Take care everyone!

New Slippers

2008-11-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

Teaching

2008-11-06T06:29:00.002-05:00

I have always enjoyed teaching. I have done some more "formal" teaching like conducting some lunch-and-learns at work. I've done lessons on propane systems, smoke control systems, and fire dampers. They required hours of research, Power Point presentations, and a lot of preperation. I used to get really nervous speaking in front of a group of people, but that has diminished over time.

The type of teaching I enjoy most is when it's one-on-one. I've done quite a bit of this at work in an informal capacity. New employees, fresh and green out of college, typically don't know any HVAC design. I didn't either. We know AutoCAD and basically learn everything else via "on the job training". Some places just throw you in the water and you better learn how to swim quickly. I've been fortunate to have had some great mentors and teachers throughout my career. Now, I'm in a position to return the favor. I especially like bringing a new engineer out into the field and show him around a job that's under construction. I point out the different design features; why we do this and that; point out where the evil contractor is trying to cut corners; and even pointing out mistakes that I made during the design and showing what the results of that mistake are in the field.

My love for teaching has grown some more. This time it's helping my son do his homework. Boo Jr had "homework" in Kindergarten, but it never really required much thought on his part. It was coloring or some similar artsy-craftsy type task. But now that he's in First Grade, now they're really getting down to business. Some recent homework that I really enjoyed doing with him was Geography. We learned about North, South, East, and West. We also learned about globes, maps, and legends. Last night, we learned how to read a map with a grid on it. "What do you see in square B6?" Teaching and doing homework with Boo Jr can certainly be frustrating at times. It's hard to overcome "I don't know" when you know that he just doesn't want to do his homework and would rather watch tv or play. Sometimes it's hard to stay positive and encouraging too if I've had a long day at work. But the reward is when you see the lightbulb turn on over Boo Jr's head and you see that he "gets it". That's the greatest feeling in the world. And being a parent has been the greatest job in the world too.

Voting Instructions for Virginia Voters

2008-11-02T16:46:00.001-05:00

Trick or Treat

2008-11-02T08:59:00.000-05:00

From Russia With Love

2008-10-23T19:46:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-19T16:04:00.002-04:00

Porcupine Tree - Russia on Ice

2008-10-16T20:58:00.001-04:00

Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere But Not Here

2008-10-16T20:27:00.001-04:00

Never stop the car on a drive in the dark
Never look for the truth in your mother's eyes
Never trust the sound of rain upon a river
Rushing through your ears

Arriving somewhere but not here

Did you imagine the final sound as a gun?
Or the smashing windscreen of a car?
Did you ever imagine the last thing you'd hear as you're fading out was a song?

All my designs, simplified
And all of my plans, compromised
All of my dreams, sacrificed

Ever had the feeling you've been here before?
Drinking down the poison the way you were taught
Every thought from here on in your life begins
And all you knew was wrong?

Did you see the red mist block your path?
Did the scissors cut a way to your heart?
Did you feel the envy for the sons of mothers tearing you apart?

No More Bush!

2008-10-16T06:53:00.001-04:00

I'm a Greenheck Fan - Are You?

2008-10-11T11:30:00.001-04:00

350

2008-10-10T06:47:00.000-04:00

President Signs into Law Financial Rescue Package with Long-Awaited Extensions of Vital Energy Tax Incentives

2008-10-07T14:16:00.001-04:00

Following a tense week of congressional negotiations and votes, the President signed into law on Friday a $700 billion financial rescue bill that also includes $17 billion in energy tax incentives, including extensions of several provisions that have already expired or were set to expire at year's end. The energy tax package followed a long and winding road to enactment, having been jettisoned from the energy law in December and having become the subject of an ongoing debate in the House and Senate about whether and how to specify a funding source for the provisions. USGBC monitored and pressed for extensions of these vital tax incentives for more than a year, and celebrates their passage as an essential victory that will ensure continued investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
Among other energy provisions, the new law contains several tax incentives that promise to advance greener, more energy-efficient buildings, including:
a 1-year extension of the tax credit for the production of energy from wind, and a two-year extension of the credit for energy production from other renewable sources, such as geothermal;
an 8-year extension of the tax credits for investment in commercial and residential solar projects, including the removal of the $2,000 cap on investments in residential solar electric installations, and the addition of small wind energy and geothermal heat pump projects as qualifying installations for tax credits;
a 5-year extension of the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings;
a 1-year extension of the tax credit for the construction of new energy-efficient homes;
a 1-year extension of the tax credit for qualified energy-efficiency upgrades to existing homes;
an extension through 2010 of the tax credit for the manufacture of energy-efficient appliances;
and a 3-year extension of the authority for state and localities to issue tax-exempt bonds for green building and sustainable design projects.

» For a summary of the tax provisions in the new law, click here.

Sarah Palin - Head of Skate

2008-10-06T18:41:00.000-04:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Bugs!

2008-10-03T15:43:00.002-04:00

Here are some critters I ran into during this morning's site visit.

Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart

2008-10-03T06:50:00.001-04:00

"Truth" by Petrucci and Rudess

2008-10-01T10:08:00.000-04:00

New Office - Pardon Our Dust

2008-09-30T12:22:00.005-04:00

These photos were taken a couple weeks before our new office opened up. I'll post more pictures as the construction workers finish the final touches on everything.

Panoramic View

Gymnasium

My cube is tucked up against the exterior wall on the left