Morgan L. Bonner

Countdown...

2012-01-29T16:13:00.002-05:00

The bag is packed, the car is gassed, the camera's charged....all that's left now is to meet my little girl. I can't wait...

Saying goodbye...

2012-01-15T15:33:00.000-05:00

If you've known me for any amount of time, you probably knowthat I am a huge Denver Broncos fan, and have been since I was eight years old.From watching them lose three Super Bowls in the 80's then wearing my brightorange Elway jersey to school the next day (not smart btw), to watching themfinally win it all in '98 and '99 and every game in-between - I've bled orangeand blue. However, I am sorry to report that after twenty-six years, my allegianceto the Broncos has come to an end. For the last two years, I've watched withhorror as the team that I loved was driven into the ground by a new coach, thenseemingly brought back to life when John Elway came back only to then be turnedover to Mr. Tebow - I simply cannot cheer for a man who is so outspoken abouthis belief that I'm going to burn in Hell for eternity. John Elway is wellknown to be the biggest Republican in the state of Colorado, but never once didhe go on TV and say "Vote for Bush!". He didn't bring it onto thefield, and as such was the QB every Bronco fan - no matter what they believed - could cheer for. To paraphrase aquote from Star Wars, the Broncos are going down a path I cannot follow. Afterlast week when they beat the Steelers in the playoffs and in dramatic fashion, I felt nothing. Thenlast night when they were blown out by the Patriots, I felt nothing. The reasonfor that? I have finally realized they are no longer my team. And so I saygoodbye...

However, I love football and I miss cheering for a team andfeeling the highs and lows that it brings. I have decided to root for my (sortof) hometown team, the Carolina Panthers. They have a bright future, we can goto games since the in-laws live in Charlotte, and most importantly - I liketheir Quarterback's touchdown dance a whole lot more than Mr. Tebow's...

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T16:40:00.001-05:00

Bi-Monthly Macias picture update

2011-12-09T10:27:00.001-05:00

Still can't find time to update this blog, but thought I'd share a few pics from the past two months. Macias is growing like a weed and very much looking forward to decorating the Xmas tree this weekend....

Realized after taking this picture he is WAY too big for the baby swing - he uses the big boy swings now!

Making a new friend.

Picking out a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.

And painting said pumpkin with Mommy.

We were a very scary Dinosaur for Halloween.

It wouldn't be a weekend without a trip to one of the many playgrounds in the area.

Nice hats!

Columbia Zoo

2011-10-11T16:39:00.000-04:00

Since Macias loves all things animals, we decided to take a day trip to the Columbia Zoo - we've been to several different Zoo's, but this was by far the best. Other than the Tigers, all the animals were out and about, it was a perfect day weather-wise, and Macias even got to feed a Giraffe....

Having recently learned the word "butt", Macias took special note of the Baboons and their "big red butts".

Since the real Tigers were sleeping, he decided to ride this one instead.

Hanging out with the Pink Flamingos...

Making Mommy laugh by noting the Gorilla's also had "big butts".

A cool cat.

Feeding a Giraffe!

Enjoying a warm chocolate chip cookie at the Kenya Cafe.

Some pics from August

2011-09-01T08:41:00.001-04:00

I hadn't posted any pictures for a while (or anything else either I guess - who has the time?!) so here are some recent ones. I find that I'm not taking the camera with me as many times when we go places, or if I do I forget to take some pictures. I suppose I was never going to be able to keep up the pace of Macias-picture-taking I had set during the first two years. Still, in the future when I look back on this blog and see the photos of this time period, I don't want there to be any huge gaps. Anyway, as we enter these last five months before he's going to be a big brother, he continues to amaze and delight his Mother and I every day. I still get an irrational love out of watching him walk or run, hearing him talk (his "Daddy, where's MY cereal?" from this morning - as I sat down with my cereal but he had his oatmeal and yogurt - was precious) and exploring his world.

Green Lantern!

Thor!

Captain America!

Swinging at Uncle Andy's on a beautiful Summer morning.

Is it just me or does he look several years older in this picture?

You there! Take me down the slide again!

Stealing a chip during our Packet Fantasy Football Draft.
CAN'T WAIT until he's old enough to play with us!

2011-07-19T09:08:00.001-04:00

Announcement!

Well, it worked out so well the first time we thought "hey, why not do it again!" A new Bonner will be arriving on or around February 8th, 2012 - presumably he will no longer be a gummy bear by then.

Fatherhood Day 730

2011-06-11T12:21:00.012-04:00

Happy Birthday bud - can't wait to see what the next year brings...

Travelin' Man

2011-06-05T17:39:00.001-04:00

In the last few weeks we've made the Grandparent rounds, spending a weekend in Greenville for a belated Mother's Day celebration for Mom then this past week we spent in Boise visiting "Da-do" and Grandma Lynn. Other than some pretty lousy weather for most of the week, we had a blast in Boise hanging out with Macias' Idaho family...

Grandma, Macias and a Lion at the Greenville Zoo.

After Grandma was eaten by said Lion.

Macias' early 2nd birthday party and 24 Grandparents,
Cousins, Aunts, Uncles and friends...

Future Bronco?

Biggest. Toddler. Playground. EVAR.

Not built for Daddy-sized people...

Feeding Ducks down the street from Da-do's house.

Watching the Monkey's swing about at the Boise Zoo.

Speaking of swinging around like a monkey...it's Monkey Bizness!

He didn't spend as much time in the toddler area...

...because he wanted to keep going down the giant slide!

At the Bishop's House, where Mommy and Daddy got married.

Riding a Turtle with Da-do...

Our second trip to the Boise Zoo with Da-do, Grandma Lynn and Aunt Katy.

Charleston, SC

2011-04-18T08:52:00.003-04:00

Macias and I took Mommy to Charleston for her 30th Birthday present over the weekend - we went to the South Carolina Aquarium, the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry and Fort Sumter (totally forgetting that it was the sesquicentennial of the battle) among other stops. We didn't make it to a few places as we found it difficult to reconcile other people's eat/nap schedules with ours (so I still owe Allison a trip to the Homminy Grill) but it was fun to get out of town for a little while. Behold: pics!

Night before the trip: Spiderman PJ's!

After I had been promising Fishes all morning once he finally saw them he ran up to the tank screaming "FISH!!"

Believe or not, he actually did keep his hands out of the water.

He loved touching the Sea Urchins. Gross.

Stingrays!

One of the few moments he was actually happy in the stroller...

Bonners at Fort Sumter.

More Bonners at Fort Sumter.

He took a break from trying to climb into the cannons to pose
for one more pic with Daddy.

He tried all four chairs before deciding this was his favorite.

Macias Year Two Trailer

2011-03-11T10:16:00.000-05:00

All Macias, all the time

2011-02-03T14:35:00.001-05:00

I remember when I used to post interesting things on this blog - now it's just a shrine to my child for the benefit of Grandparents. Oh well! He's more interesting anyway. Onto the pics..

We're not talking Hockey - I'm actually explaining why he can't go over to the
Doggie because the Doggie might try to eat him.

Now we're talking Hockey. Go Avs!

Building sand castles with Mommy on Coligny Beach.

Chasing/being chased by Mommy on a beautiful day in the park.

We've been down every slide in the county at this point
and the reaction is always the same!

Hangin' out with Grandma.

Taking a break from screaming in the grocery store
long enough to pose for this picture...

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

The Bonner's had a very nice Christmas as Santa (and Grandma!) brought Macias lots of toys and goodies. He also brought Daddy a case of strep throat, but hey this day isn't about me anymore right?! We're looking forward to next year when he can really start to understand all the holiday traditions...

Grandma brought new books!

We like books!

We also liked this bouncy-light-up-turtle contraption.

Star Wars ABC's!

Taking our new (my old) trench coat out for a spin.

Go Avs!

He loved his MACIAS BONNER puzzle also. Pretty neat...

Taking his new ride out for a spin.

I made the mistake of doing Chewbacca's howl once...now it's expected every time he lands on the "W is for Wookie" page.

Macias at (almost) 18 months

2010-12-05T15:50:00.000-05:00

In less than a week my baby boy will be eighteen months old - this is, frankly, unbelievable to me but the photographic evidence is right here. Every day seems to bring a new word or new skill, but his smile and infectious personality remain the same...

Hi!

He tried on several pairs before finding the ones he liked...

Walking off the slice of white pizza from Paulie's he stole from Daddy.

He goes down his slide by himself now...

Playing football in the yard.

Touchdown!

He can climb in his wagon by himself - still working on climbing out.

Playing hide-and-seek on Thanksgiving day.

"What do you mean, no more iPad?"

Helping Daddy organize his DVD's.

One of his favorite library books, "Oopsie! Ouchie!".

Helping Mommy trim the tree....

He prefers to swing backwards.

Got him to sit still long enough for our Christmas card photo...

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T18:11:00.000-04:00

We took Macias to a local Outlet mall so he could go trick-or-treating for the first time. He went dressed up as Chewbacca and although most people clearly knew who he was supposed to be, the MC of the event didn't which was kind of awkward. He got it eventually however, and gave Macias the prize for "Cutest" costume. It occurred to me that I should have dressed up as Han Solo to go with him - maybe next year!

He's been known to pull people's arms out of their sockets when he loses....

A solitary Wookie.

He signed his "Please" and "Thank You's" to everyone who gave him candy.

"Boy you said it Chewie..."

Maybe next year he can actually eat a piece of candy!

If only I had one of these things at 15 months...

2010-09-20T17:06:00.000-04:00

I might be a whole lot smarter! Or at least be much better at spelling...

Worst. Day. Ever.

2010-09-18T22:30:00.001-04:00

That child birthing class didn't prepare me for this...

Since Allison has chronicled the ordeal of our family's week on her blog, I thought the only thing to say about it was to share this e-mail I sent to my son - an e-mail he won't read for many years and one which he will probably just shrug his shoulders at since he'll have no memory of what I'm talking about (a fact for which I'm very grateful!)...

Macias,

Five days ago (Monday) you were diagnosed with a MRSA staph infection (the nasty kind that is resistant to many antibiotics) and we took you to the hospital in Savannah for surgery to have an abscess on your groin that was growing rapidly drained. You were in a lot of pain and your Mom and I were scared out of our minds. I decided to e-mail you about this because I wanted you to know how brave and wonderful you were - the only highlight in what was without a doubt the worst day of your parents lives.

You ate your breakfast at 7AM, but we couldn't give you any other food or water because we knew you'd given anesthesia for the procedure. Despite missing a meal for the first time (two, in fact) and not having a single nap (you usually get two hours of sleep a day at least) you never once complained. You were your usual awesome self, smiling and playing while in your stroller, watching all the various people in the hospital, your Mom fight with your insurance company who didn't want to pay for the procedure, and your Dad who was asking the Doctor one annoying question after another. Finally at about 4:30, we got into a room and the nurse started the process of getting the IV into your arm. Your Mom and I had to hold you down as you started to struggle, as if you knew it wasn't going to be pleasant. As the nurse put the needle in your arm to find a vein to put it in, you cried and screamed ten times harder than you ever had before - I cannot imagine how much pain you must have been in, and how scared you were. I will never forget the look in your eyes - it broke both our hearts to see you like that. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the nurse got the needle in and started putting the rest of the IV together. If I could have had one wish in the world right then and there, I would have wished for it to be just a few months later, by which time you could understand me when I was telling you that it was going to be over soon, and that we were helping you get better.

After a few minutes the stuff kicked in and you couldn't feel anything. The surgeon came in and did his thing - it was hard to watch but you didn't react to it at all so that made it bearable. He drained as much as he could, then inserted some tubes to keep the incision from healing so it could continue to drain at home. He was in and out in 10 minutes. After he was done you got wrapped up and your Mom held you, waiting for you to come out of your drug-induced haze. About twenty minutes later you were still kinda foggy, but clear-headed enough to be giving us an earful about the IV still attached to your arm. I went and got the nurse and asked her to take it out as soon as was possible, which she did and afterwards brought you an orange popsicle - your first time having one. Needless to say, you devoured it on the spot and your Mom asked her for another since you liked it so much. About an hour later, we were discharged and on our way home. You fell asleep in your car seat before we even left the parking lot.

The rest of the week has been pretty stressful on your Mother and I - she lost her job this week, and we have some very difficult days ahead financially - but mostly because you still had your fever so we have been watching you like a hawk to make sure it doesn't spike (which would indicate a complication) and waiting for it to go away completely (which would indicate the sulfer-based antibiotics you were given had killed the infection). Finally on Friday morning you didn't wake up with a fever - we were overjoyed! You go back on Monday to have the tubes taken out, and hopefully at that point this will all be over.

You handled the most difficult situation you've ever faced with more grace and class than most adults I know. Maybe it's because you didn't know any better - or maybe it's because that's who you are.

I love you,

Dad

Labor Day

2010-09-07T14:05:00.002-04:00

We have returned home after a quick Labor Day weekend jaunt to Charlotte to get Macias some quality Nanny and Grandma time. Despite battling through a slight fever for most of the weekend, he had tons of fun and ate more than he should (hey it's vacation right?!). On the way out of town we stopped at the local mall to pick up some new Fall clothes for him, and took him on his first ever Merry-Go-Round ride, as well as this mini-merry-go-round-thing (I have no idea what to call it). I'll just quote Allison here: "I would do whatever it takes to keep that smile on his face all the time"…I couldn't have said it better.

Mega Playland!

2010-08-29T10:56:00.001-04:00

Macias loves to hide under bed sheets and behind curtains, so a quick search for "toddler tunnels" on Amazon revealed this gem. He loves his ball pit, though Daddy did have to demonstrate why it was so awesome. Pictures of that will not be shown. Oh, and by the way, yes, I am going to spoil my child rotten, at least for a little while longer. If doing so requires setting up this thing that takes up half the space of his already tiny room, so be it! Because one day when life isn't being so nice to him or he is going through a rough time, maybe he can look at these photos and - even though he won't remember - know that when he was fourteen months old he was having a blast with Mom and Dad...

Monthly Macias picture update!

2010-08-21T20:47:00.000-04:00

It's been quite a month - he's been sick a few times, hit his head a few times and even skipped lunch one day at school (Mommy and Daddy broke the rules by sending a PB&J, and then the school failed to call Daddy so he could bring a different lunch) but through it all he's still his usual awesome self. Probably my favorite moment this month is his newfound habit of saying "uh oh" when he drops something - but also when he does something completely ordinary that doesn't require it. We're pretty sure he picked this up at school since we can't recall saying it around him, but it's pretty frickin' cute. On to the pics!

Hi!

Learning his animals on the iPad

Who you gonna call?

At the Bluffton library, his new favorite place on Earth...

Creating his masterpiece for Nanny's birthday.

Battle cry!

The Caterpillar

2010-07-21T14:51:00.000-04:00

Not that I was ever a proficient blogger in the first place, but I find that there are too many other things that need attention during the small amount of free time I have each day to worry about posting. However, I know that my many, many readers (i.e., Mom) like to know what's going on and see the big boy's development. So in that vein…

Macias graduates to his new classroom starting on Monday - he was a Grasshopper and now will be a Caterpillar. We're so proud! Due to having to wait for a spot to open up in his new classroom he has spent the last month as the BMOC in the Grasshopper class, running roughshod over the babies in the room and pretty much ruling the roost. I've explained that in the next class they will be far less impressed with his abilities, since they can all walk and talk too. Speaking of talking he is very clearly saying "da da" and "daddy" to me when he wants to, communicating very efficiently with sign language (his sign for "more" when he wants more to eat gets me every time) and LOVES to have books read to him. However, he's very picky about which books he wants to hear - it's fascinating (to me anyway) to see him toss aside new books in favor of old standbys such as "Hippos Go Berserk!" and "Moo Moo Brown Cow". The temper tantrums have also started, albeit slightly. When he is unhappy he will whine, dive onto the floor, roll over onto his back and start sucking his thumb. I've started to replicate this behavior at work when I don't get my way also - apparently it's not nearly as cute when I do it. On to some recent photos….

Hamming it up in his pool on a typically brutal July afternoon in SC...

We didn't see it happen, and still aren't quite sure how he got into this predicament.

Not pictured: his Lightsaber on the floor next to him.


Learning his ABC's on Daddy's (soon to be his) iPad.

Quite a handsome pair huh?

Just walking around...no big deal....

2010-07-05T09:23:00.000-04:00

Fatherhood - Day 365

2010-06-11T21:22:00.000-04:00

Macias,

There are a lot of appropriate things I could say on this occasion - I could say this year has been the best of my life because you've been in it. Or I could talk about all the little things you do to make me laugh, the way you are just SO happy to see me when I pick you up at school, or even mention about how proud your Mother and I are of you for walking for the first time today of all days. Yep, there's a lot I could say, but I think I'll just keep it simple - Happy Birthday buddy.

Love,
Dad

Kids today have it made

2010-05-31T18:47:00.000-04:00

Allison spotted this "Li'l Squirt Baby Pool" in a catalog (which, I have to say, how these companies get wind of the fact that a baby lives at this address is beyond me) and thought Macias would like it. You be the judge...

Macias at (almost) one year

2010-05-24T19:50:00.001-04:00

While he won't be a year old for another few weeks, I thought I'd take a moment to share some recent pics of my beautiful baby boy who is already growing up way too fast before his birthday and all his Grandmas and Grandpas come to visit. Wasn't it just yesterday that I could hold his whole body in my arm (the "football" hold)? Now I feel like I'll blink and he'll be asking for the keys to the car on a Saturday night. He is walking all over the house with the aid of this walker-thing I bought for him and has almost worked up the nerve to take his first steps unassisted. We were finally able to turn his car seat around so he can see what's going on (which he loves) and I even have him helping me play Plants vs. Zombies on the iPad (his job is to catch the sun as it falls from the sky). He continues to amaze me with his willingness to eat whatever healthy food his Mother makes for him (including Kale - KALE, folks), as well as with his even-tempered personality and his always-on smile. I can honestly say that I should have done this a lot sooner….

I'm hiring!

2010-05-03T11:26:00.000-04:00

We (The Island Packet) are currently looking to fill the night shift Pre-Press Assistant position. Since I've had limited success going through the traditional channels with some of my past hires, I thought I'd turn to folks who know me already and might know someone who they think would be interested in the position and be a strong candidate.

The shift is from 3PM - 1AM, Monday through Friday. Stop reading now if you don't know anyone willing to work nights….

Still with me? Ok then…the night shift Pre-Press Assistant position needs to be a jack-of-all-trades - in short, me at night. The main responsibility is outputting the plates for the next day's paper and whatever commercial jobs are due, however the position is also responsible for the care and feeding of our AGFA computer-to-plate machines (it's not overly manual, but a potential hire does need to know how to use an allen wrench when needed, and there is a fair amount of cleaning involved), dummying several different sections, creating our comic pages, etc. The position will also be responsible for building ads when necessary, so the ideal candidate would have a background in Graphic Design. As long as I'm shooting for the moon, they would even be able to handle small IT functions as they relate to the computer systems that run our department.

While we put as many procedures and safeguards in place to try to avoid them, problems can and do occur (human error or otherwise) and I am looking for a person who can deal with them without having to call me in the middle of the night. I need someone who can be shown how to fix a problem and remember that fix even if the problem doesn't happen again for another six months. Someone who can be trained on the half-dozen computer programs we use to get the paper out the door and be an expert in them a few months later. Someone who can work well on their own and find things to do around the department during the occasional down time. Most importantly, someone I can count on! This position is unique in that it has it's hands into almost every aspect of the production process for the Newspaper - it's a big job and I'm looking for someone special to do it!

If you know anyone who might be a good fit, please have them contact me through any of the various means there are to contact me. Thanks in advance!

Update

2010-04-16T17:29:00.000-04:00

Well after my self-congratulatory post a few weeks ago about overcoming my various aliments, I naturally was hit with another massive illness last week, though this one was at least a somewhat manageable but still horrible case of Sinusitis. Last Sunday I had mucus coming out of my eyes. My EYES people. Also, fun fact for those who have never had the pleasure: despite being slimly and liquidly, mucus in your eyes feels a lot like shards of glass in your eyes. ANYWAY, I'm on lots of meds and nothing is helping but I am slowly getting better (I think).

Here's an iPad review for you - it's freaking awesome. As in, I have only turned on the MacBook twice since she came home.The game-changer for me has been watching Rockies games on it, but I'm also reading books again which I didn't think I'd be into. Throw in a little Geometry Wars, and this little guy and I are going to be great friends.

Because my bride didn't post them, enjoy some recent Macias pics….and fyi, if you see snot flying through the air, that might have actually been from me and not him…

Morgan's must have day one iPad apps

2010-04-01T21:36:00.001-04:00

My iPad will be arriving on Saturday and I'm more excited for this thing than I have been for any gadget in a long, long time. To that end, I'm allowing myself a budget of $100 for apps and iBooks. $20 of that is a iTunes gift card from Mom for my birthday. Still trying to figure out how to swindle Allison out of her $15 iTunes gift card I got her for Christmas that she hasn't used yet...anyway, on to the list! (links lead to iTunes app page)

NetNewsWire, MLB At Bat, Geometry Wars, Wikipanion, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Plants vs. Zombies, Marvel Comics, One Password

And here's hoping there will be a DropBox app on day one also...

It's no iPad but still...

2010-04-01T15:53:00.002-04:00

Best birthday ever

2010-03-29T11:30:00.000-04:00

'cuz I get to spend it with this little guy (and his beautiful Mama of course)....

Back

2010-03-28T15:30:00.000-04:00

I am declaring victory over my many aliments - if for no other reason than I haven't been sick for week and it's FINALLY starting to warm up around here. This winter has truly been the worst I've ever experienced here in South Carolina. Of course since it didn't compare to any winter in Maryland I guess my blood truly has thinned. One of my symptoms during my prolonged illnesses was a complete and utter intolerance of cold - whether it be in the house, office or outside, the only time I felt warm in the last three months has been in a hot shower. With that in mind, so help me I'm actually looking forward to the sweltering Lowcountry heat that I know is almost upon us. I truly can't wait to step outside after being in the office for a few hours and being hit with a blast of hot, humid air that fogs up my glasses instantly. Yes, I'll probably feel differently in August.

In any case, the only good news to come from my umpteen visits to various Doctors to try to find out what the hell was wrong with me is that I've had nearly every test known to man performed on me and have passed with flying colors, including getting my Triglycerides down from 320 nine months ago to 115 currently. It involved changing many of my eating habits as well as letting go of my love for Mt. Dew but it was necessary to make sure I'm around to see my baby grow up.

Speaking of whom, Macias continues to be the biggest joy in my life right now. Just the other day Allison and I were playing with him on the couch, and the TV was on but muted. I saw Star Wars was coming on Spike TV, so when the "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" words came on, I turned the volume on. As STAR WARS came on and the theme started to play, Macias stopped what he was doing, turned and looked at the TV for a moment, then completely bypassed Allison and looked over at me with a huge grin on his face as if to say "Daddy! Look what's on!!" (he may have heard the theme music once or twice). I'm not ashamed to say I teared up a little, much like I will during our first lightsaber battle I imagine. Technically, we've already had one, but it was with glow sticks.

Tomorrow is my 32nd birthday, and while I thought turning thirty was old, this is even worse. Did you know I can't eat pizza after 8PM or I'll pay for it later that night? When the hell did that start? I also have lower back pain when I wake up in the morning. Used to be I could sleep upside down and in a pretzel knot and get a good eight hours - not anymore. My hope is that as my son grows up and is more active outside it will force me to be more active outside as well and hopefully I can stave off the process of my body breaking down a little longer. Well anyway, as long as someone finds time to make her famous birthday chocolate raspberry cupcakes it will be a great day no matter what….

Still here...

2010-03-22T17:50:00.001-04:00

But barely. Continue to battle strange illnesses that come and go. Will resume blog when I'm better....

Captain Bonner

2010-02-21T21:14:00.002-05:00

Yes, he's going to school dressed like that. No, he won't be going to high school dressed like that. Just wait till you see what I have planned for him to wear when we hit Star Wars Celebration in August...

Snowpocalypse 2010

2010-02-13T13:19:00.005-05:00

Snow here in the Lowcountry! About an inch fell in Bluffton and Hilton Head, and three inches in Beaufort (go ahead and make a disgusted face Northerners). Behold some scenes of the devastation from the great Snowpocalypse of 2010! Oh, and climate change deniers take note: you were right! There can't possibly be anything wrong if it's SNOWING on Hilton Head, South Carolina...

Just for Grandma

2010-02-09T19:14:00.001-05:00

Teeth!! Nuggets PJ's!! Sweet!!

Big boy seat or "why I seriously need a new car"…

2010-01-22T14:28:00.001-05:00

Not long ago I posted a self-congratulatory note about how I had finally paid off my car. It has been a nice few months of not sending Toyota large sums of money, but something has happened recently that is making me wonder if I could swing another car payment...

You see, Mr. Macias has graduated from the car seat and into his big boy seat, the one that he'll have for several years. Getting the car seat in and out of my Celica was always difficult to say the least, but now things have gotten absurd. Because the safest place for his seat is on the passenger side and it has to be facing backward for now, I have to load him in the car from the drivers side. Sadly, the drivers side seat doesn't move forward as far as the passenger side seat does. First I have to maneuver him into the car, then sit him in the back seat. Then I have to maneuver myself into the car, and crouch just enough to be able to pick him up, turn him 180 degrees and plop him in the seat, doing so completely with my arms as my legs are immobilized and cannot help lift his now 20-pound heft.

I had performed this feat (or as I've now dubbed it, the "Bonner maneuver") on several occasions, every time seemingly more difficult than the last. Each time the only thought running through my head was how much simpler it would be to do this in a nice four-door sedan. Then I would stop myself from thinking such thoughts - I don't need a new payment, it's only for the next four months until the seat can be front facing, etc. Today, however, I was clearly focused too much on how big a pain of the ass it is, and not on the task at hand and accidentally bumped Macias' head against the top door frame on his way in. It wasn't a hard bump at all, and at first I thought he might not even have noticed - wrong. When I sat him down he had the most pained look on his face, then started wailing - tears streaming down his face :(

Macias is such a happy baby (even during the rare occasion that he is crying, it's more like an annoyed whine) that it was a complete and utter shock for me to see him truly in pain and upset. In that instant, I felt like the world's lousiest Dad. He let me have it for nearly two minutes before I guess the pain subsided and he became fascinated by the CD's and cassettes (yeah I still play cassette tapes sometimes….what about it?) in the seat pocket. Still, he didn't like being picked up, he didn't like being buckled in, barked at me the whole way to school and didn't like being taken out of the car any more than being put in. Then I further made him angry by putting him in one of the jumpers at school that I failed to notice had a half-full milk bottle resting on top of it, which he did not fail to notice and reached for immediately only to have it taken away by his mean ol' Dad. All in all, I think for the first time since he's been around he'd had enough of me this morning. I wasn't expecting that for another few years at least.

Anyway, as the hours pass by and I don't face the prospect of having to put him in my car again until tomorrow, the desire to get another car has died down. Though, next time I do have to deal with it I'll concentrate really hard on getting him safely, then when that's done take a moment and wonder what it would be like getting him in and out of one of these....

The Jalapeño incident

2010-01-14T22:14:00.002-05:00

Long story short - apparently, I'm allergic to jalapeños.

Long story: On December 12th, I awoke to a mild sore throat. Having been ill with one damn thing or another since Macias started bringing home kid germs from his day care, I just chalked it up to yet another cold/flu thing. The sore throat stayed with me for a week, sometimes worse than others but never really going away. I went to the Doctor and got on some Amoxicillin for the next ten days but it didn't help - the sore throat came and went as it pleased, mostly mild but sometimes very painful. This continued for the entire following month. Being the nerd that I am, I immediately sought out advice on the Internet. Sadly, I learned that I had either cancer or AIDS and was about to die. Having sufficiently freaked myself out and worried sick that I was never going to see my son grow up, I scheduled yet another visit to the Doctor, hoping that he could tell me something about the sore throat that wouldn't go away.

The earliest appointment I could get was for this past Monday, so with nothing left to do but wait I enjoyed my usual weekend fare, including the bacon cheeseburger at Five Guys which I get with ketchup, mustard, mayo, grilled onions and jalapeños. It was delish, however I woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday with the sore throat as bad as it had ever been, then on Monday morning was nauseous and actually even vomited from all the mucous in my throat and stomach. Allison had to take the baby to day care, and I collapsed on the couch, convinced my time was just about up. About five minutes later, a funny thing happened - I felt fine. The sore throat was gone completely. I have limited medical knowledge, but I do know that viruses and other illnesses don't come and go like that. Determined to figure out my problem, or to at least have something to tell the Doctor, I headed back to the Internet.

After entering in this new information from my Monday morning incident, I stumbled across some information about food allergies. Specifically, ones caused by eating the same food over and over again. Some of my symptoms started to match up, but having never been allergic to anything before it still seemed unlikely. One of the sites suggested that I ask myself what if I had recently begun to eat something I had never eaten before - being the creature of habit that I am, it didn't take long to come up with it: jalapeños. You see, recently a Jersey Mikes has opened in Bluffton, and the #56 is simply the best cheesesteak I've ever had. For the last few months, I'd gotten it - a lot - and found that I could not only tolerate the jalapeños, but actually started to like them and then started getting them on anything I could - burgers, nachos - even jalapeño potato chips.

It's been five days since my last jalapeño, and I'm still sore-throat free. The Doctor said there is a test for an allergy to that specific food, but that because it's more rare that other allergies it's part of the 200 food test panel, and would set me back $595 dollars if done by the Doctor. He rightfully suggested that I should probably just cut out jalapeños in order to test the theory rather than spend the money to be sure.

I'm still not convinced that I've found the cure to my problems, so far it's just a theory that happens to fit the facts. If true however, it sucks. I'm really going to miss my #56.

Peas in a pod

2010-01-03T17:32:00.003-05:00

This pea is glad the other won't remember this season...sheesh.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T12:11:00.002-05:00

My New Year's resolution? To blog more. Heh.

Fatherhood Day 187

2009-12-15T22:31:00.003-05:00

I am truly dreading the day when a smile from me won't automatically be responded to in kind. I know it's coming - just hoping to hold on a little longer...

That's my boy!

2009-12-04T22:21:00.002-05:00

KHANNNN!!!!!

Thanksgiving at the Bonners' house

2009-11-27T21:26:00.025-05:00

Since we weren't going anywhere or having any family in town for Thanksgiving, we decided to have some friends from work over to celebrate the holiday (and pool resources on trimmings). It's always nice to see family of course, but some of the best holiday's I've had have been spent with friends, and this Thanksgiving was no different...thanks to Jay Karr for showing how an actual professional photographer does it by the way...

Next Thanksgiving Macias can eat dinner with us!

We aren't supposed to be watching TV but...the game is on!

Look kids - it's Brian Dearth!

Allison slaved away in the kitchen all day...

Jake Vrabel showing Macias his book of trains

I made the gravy. Well, I stirred the gravy anyway...

Thankfully an expert Turkey carver came over...

The menu

Umm...who let this guy in here?

My favorite: gotta go with the Sweet Potato Casserole.

Taking a break before dessert...

Macias had never seen someone from California before...

It's not turkey and stuffing but...

Jake likes the Bonner's house - we have lots of cool toys...

Like Lightsabers

Darth Dearth

Leeann prepares for battle...

Jake turns to the Dark Side and must be stopped...

Then he turns back to the good side a few minutes later

Battle of the nerds...

Fatherhood - Day 166

2009-11-24T22:06:00.003-05:00

Today as Mommy was walking out the door on her way to work she told Daddy to clean Macias' left eye, which was pretty goopy. Well Daddy and Macias got to playing and were having such a good time that Daddy forgot what Mommy told him. So Macias went down for his nap, and Daddy drove him to day care. When he got there and Macias woke up, he could only open one eye as the other one had completely crusted over. Well, Daddy felt really terrible that he forgot to clean Macias' left eye because Macias looked so sad only being able to open his right eye. After getting him out of his car seat he asked Macias' teacher for a warm cloth. Even though his teacher said she would do it, Daddy still felt like crap so he insisted on cleaning Macias' left eye himself. So Daddy put Macias in his crib and cleaned out his left eye...when Macias finally opened his left eye for the first time in more than an hour, the first thing his left eye saw was Daddy - and he gave Daddy the biggest smile he had ever given him. Daddy was so happy that he picked up Macias and they played together right in the middle of his classroom and Daddy was 15 minutes late to work.

And Daddy didn't care one bit.

A night at the symphony

2009-11-07T11:44:00.005-05:00

Allison and I left Macias with Grandma Patty and went to see Star Wars in Concert in Greenville on Thursday night. The show was excellent, there were several of the original props and costumes on display and lots of little Ewoks and Stromtroopers running around. I thought I'd share some video for the two people who might care...

Happy Birthday Mom

2009-11-01T07:03:00.002-05:00

Sixty-One years ago today my Mother was born and the world became a much better place. I am continuously amazed by her strength and toughness, her ability to handle every punch life has thrown at her (and life has landed some real haymakers) and always get back up off the mat every time. In addition, she taught me left from right, right from wrong, how to drive, how to treat a lady, a respect for life in all its forms and a million other big and small things that made me into the person I am today. It also puts my mind at ease to know that she will be there to help me with the most difficult challenge I'll ever have - doing as good a job raising my son as she did raising hers.

My other baby

2009-10-28T23:10:00.005-04:00

Seven years, one month and fourteen days after I came home from the Beaufort Toyota dealership with her, she's finally mine - the title arrived in the mail today. There was no great rejoicing at paying off the loan, mostly because I won't be saving any money as I have substituted one stupid-big monthly payment with another in the form of Macias' day care. Still, even though in reality she's been mine from the beginning, it does feel good to officially call her my own. She has gotten me out of more scrapes than I can even remember (though the time she went 90-degrees sideways in less than a second to avoid a head-on from a Ryder moving truck that had crossed into my lane stands out) and is now charged with keeping my son safe every morning as well. Despite it being difficult (to say the least) getting the car seat in and out, there is still no ride I'd rather have.

I mean, I might trade her in for the Batmobile, but that's about it.

Macias....still cute.

2009-10-24T21:43:00.010-04:00

Always happy after his bottle...

Watching the game while checking his Twitter feed...

Possibly too much stimulation from his Posiden's Adventure activity mat...

Camouflage baby is camouflaged....

Well yes, he does have some big shoes to fill thank you...

Aww Mom....

The mirror is a window to the soul...and drool...

The seven types of people you meet during a network meltdown at a Newspaper

2009-10-23T12:13:00.006-04:00

It's the one thing that keeps IT folk awake at night - the total collapse of the network. Hard drives die, you have a backup. End user does something stupid, you can easily fix while possibly making them feel bad about themselves. Server crashes - who cares? The clone you made last month will have it back up in an hour tops. But when it's the network, all bets are off.

Now I'm no Network admin, but spend enough time around one and you can't help but pick up lots of knowledge. I can ping, traceroute and ssh till I'm blue in the face, but when the network goes down my role becomes the gopher for the real network gurus. Anyway, I mention this because about once every 18 months or so, our internal network will get totally FUBAR'd and we have to sneakernet our way to getting the paper out. Yesterday was just such an occurrence, as something went horribly, horribly wrong at around Noon and all of the sudden every user was without a network connection. The details are unimportant, and we did eventually get going again at about 7PM, but as I've now lived through three or four of these near-disasters during my time at the Packet I find that no matter the circumstances, I always see the same people. The names and faces may change, but when their precious ~~Facebook~~ e-mail is taken away from them the people are the same…

Type 1 - The freaked-out Copy Editor
After first taking a pot-shot at you for not being more communicative about the situation (even when you a) have no idea what the situation is and b) they wouldn't understand it if you told them anyway) the freaked out Copy Editor springs into action, making plans about early deadlines and writing things down that always include a "Stet" where they probably didn't need one.

Type 2 - The laid-back Sports Editor
He knows there's trouble, but he also knows you're doing your best and only needs enough information to know if he can get his pages out. He may even ask if there's anything he can do to help which makes you stop and say "Damn those Sports guys are cool!"...

Type 3 - The completely-oblivious Ad Rep
The network is down so they can't e-mail you to "ask" if they can turn in their late ads, and of course your phone system is all VOIP so they can't call you either. Nothing left to do then but to come up to your office in groups of two or three and give you the same three excuses ("I wasn't in yesterday" or "the client said they couldn't get a hold of me" or "I forgot to write up the ad") that you've heard one million times and stopped buying 999,992 times ago. Then, neither realizing nor caring that because of their late ad once you get done fixing the network problem you will have to re-dummy a section you did yesterday, they have the nerve to tell you to "Have a great day!"….

Type 4 - The snarky Entertainment section Editor
Though I've only known two of them in my time at the Packet, their reactions to network meltdowns were the same - they both come to your desk to say only half-jokingly "What have you done?"...you see as the "Internet" person in their field of vision, you and you alone are responsible for their sudden lack of access to social media, and if they could get away with bashing your skull in with a baseball bat they would.

Type 5 - The Investigative Reporter
Always ready to uncover the next Watergate, the intrepid Investigative Reporter lurks in the shadows, hoping to overhear a juicy quote from IT like "it will be back up in ten minutes" or "it's completely hosed and I have no idea how we're going to get a paper out" that they can then run with. They don't actually talk to you, because they don't actually talk to any of their co-workers who isn't also a Investigative Reporter, but you know they're there - ready to pounce.

Type 6 - The-sketchy-outside-vendor-guy-who-was-in-your-server-room-before-the-network-imploded-doing-who-knows-what
He's here to work on his company's systems. He's got the key to your server room because that's where his servers are. He obviously knows what he's doing….with his systems. But what if if his systems are interacting somehow with your systems? And what if he makes a seemingly benign change to his systems without realizing that it may impact your systems? Of course when the network has imploded and you go looking for him to ask if there was any chance he might have done something by accident, he gets defensive and tells you, step-by-83-steps what he was doing. I'm not saying you hosed my network dude, I'm just saying it's been running fine for years and YOU are the only out of the ordinary thing going on around here...

Type 7 - The employee who makes a big show of doing nothing because his computer is down
My personal favorite - these are the people who stare at you when you walk into the room, waiting to be told they can get to work. If you don't tell them they can get to work, they will just sit there, talking amongst themselves and eating microwave popcorn. They simply cannot conceive of a universe where they might actually go looking for something else to do that would help out the company until their usual responsibilities return. Take out the trash? Nah. Clean up their messy desk? Nope. Mop their messy floor? Yeah right. They are there to do their job, not to lift one additional finger - and if they had to do more they would EXPECT to be paid for it, despite the fact they knowingly work for an industry that is on death's doorstep.

So there you have it - the seven types of people I always see in some way, shape or form when the network goes down. It's uncanny really. It also makes me kind of want to get out of IT and go sell Apple products for a living. Sigh. Maybe in a few ~~months~~ years.

Too soon?

2009-10-11T13:24:00.002-04:00

Possibly the greatest speech ever given on the floor of the United States House...

2009-10-10T09:20:00.002-04:00

Sick and tired

2009-10-09T16:33:00.004-04:00

No, this isn't a post about my right-wing friends who cheer when America loses and piss and moan when it wins. Instead, it's about me recounting the last 9 days in which I have experienced every typical symptom associated with the Flu. Given that I rarely get sick since I'm so obsessive about germs, my guess is that Macias brought home the first of what will be undoubtedly be many illnesses from his day care. In his case, it doesn't appear to have gotten past the sniffles - in mine, I've had the typical sore throat, runny nose, sinus and chest congestion, cough, headache, fever, aches, pains and muscle weakness. Also, this all started the day I got my first ever flu shot, which I don't blame for the illness because a) it can't make you sick and b) I had the sore throat before the shot, but the illness may have lingered as my immune system was busy dealing with flu shot and forgot about what I already had. In any case, I thought I'd share a few observations about being sick…

1. Being sick sucks - having to work while being sick sucks more. With only two IT people left at work, when one of them is on vacation the other simply has to be there - sure enough, that was the case this week. Having no IT person in the building is simply not an option - this is exactly when the servers will undoubtedly crash and the whole organization will grind to a halt. I've kept my distance from as many people as possible, and to this point do not have appeared to infected anyone else.

2. Over the counter medicine is worthless. Now that I've been forced to take an interest, it turns out that a few years ago someone decided to make a little Meth using Pseudoephedrine, the active ingredient that actually makes NyQuill and Musinex worth a damn. Now you can't get anything with this stuff in it without having to go either behind the counter or get a prescription - but the drug makers are still happy to sell you their Pseudoephedrine-free product, even though it no longer does anything. Musinex, NyQuil, Theraflu and Robotussin will not relieve your symptoms - don't bother with them. You need to get the "D" versions of those products. Allison says it probably works in other people - right, because my body is clearly much, much different than everyone else's and I must be the one with the problem….

3. Speaking of Allison, she is just the best wife ever…when I'm healthy. Poor thing did her best to tolerate my illness this past week, but quotes like "are you ever going to be fun to be around again?" as well as general irritation around me seemed to indicate that her patience for sleeping on the fold-out couch had come to an end. She hasn't been sick (like, sick sick) since moving back to South Carolina from Idaho. When it finally does happen, I plan to take extra special care of her...

4. By far the worst thing about being sick was not being able to be around Mr. Macias. The Friday and Monday when I was really out of it and couldn't take him to school were especially lousy, since he and I always hang out in the mornings after Mommy leaves. I will feel a lot better when he reaches the six month mark and can get vaccinated. On the upside, getting exposed to these things now should help him down the line. Allison went to day care, got sick all the time and now is healthy as a horse - I didn't go to day care, didn't get sick until I was three years old, was constantly sick all through my school years and apparently can't fight off much of anything as an adult :(

5. You'd be amazed how many people said to me something to the effect of "Too bad you don't drink - all you need is three or four glasses of wine, then wrap yourself up in the biggest blanket you can find and you will sweat the flu out in no time". Does this actually work? To me it sounds a lot like the "put soap in the bedsheets to cure leg cramps" thing, but whatevs.

In conclusion, I appear to have survived my latest brush with death (hey, it felt like I was a goner for a while there) but remind me next year to postpone the flu shot unless I'm feeling 100%. For real.

It's always nice....

2009-10-05T10:55:00.002-04:00

....to know what others think of you!
/sort of

Freaking out - parent style

2009-09-29T20:05:00.003-04:00

I have been dreading the first time Macias gets sick - the feeling of being so sad that he hurts but doesn't understand why mixed with a complete inability on my part to do anything about it...not good. Last night he was coughing and sneezing a little more than usual, and some green stuff came out of his nose. He also woke up in the middle of the night crying, which he hasn't done for almost two months. So Allison and I went into full crisis mode - up in the middle of the night monitoring his sleep, taking his temperature, calling his day care to check on him, devising a plan as to which one of us was going to pick him up if they called and wanted him to go home, having his Pediatrician on speed dial, reading up on infant respiratory conditions - we were as ready as we were ever going to be.....

....which is why I feel a little silly at the moment because it appears he just had an incredibly severe, eight hour long case of....the sniffles.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Family

2009-09-14T16:34:00.016-04:00

"You choose your friends, you choose your enemies, but family - that's in the stars...."

That has always been one of my favorite quotes - I was reminded of why during our week-long vacation to Maryland and Virginia. We began in my hometown of Ocean City, Maryland (ok, it's not quite my hometown but it's the closest place anyone has heard of) for a few days, drove past my old stomping grounds and the house I grew up in, had funnel cake and fried twinkies on the Boardwalk, saw some ponies on Assateague Island and had some delicious white pizza at the world-famous Lombardis.

Sitting out on the porch of the family beach house we were staying in (which my Father built) the first night hit me with wave after wave of nostalgia. Even though I never spent much time at that particular house, I did spend many a weekend in the Ocean Pines neighborhood. They have similar issues with street lights that Hilton Head does, so it was very dark, save for the various porch lights. There was a wonderful breeze blowing and it was about 70 degrees - perfect weather. Between the smell of the pine trees on the wind, and the sounds of the frogs and crickets, it was as if I had stepped back through time. That, coupled with the massive growth in the area (Ocean Pines even has a Dunkin Donuts now!) it was enough to make me fantasize about returning one day, but only for a moment. The truth is even though it will always be my home, there isn't anyone or anything left there to bring me back.

After Ocean City we headed west, towards Kent Island on the Chesapeake Bay where my Grandfather lives, and where my other Grandfather built several houses in the 70's and 80's. He and his wife Diana gave us the grand tour, which included my Grandparents old house that was built in 1700 and the "worlds fourth largest Holly tree"! While there I also managed to blow Allison's mind by asking for and receiving a shot of Kahlua, which I for some reason had a very distinct memory of having before in that house, at an age no greater than 10. My Grandfather surmised that my Dad must have let me have a sip. Anyway, Macias got to meet his Great-Grandfather, and I got to see my Aunt Jordan and Aunt Cynthia for the first time in at least 15 years, and meet my cousins Peter, Justin and Molly for the first time.

Then we crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on our way to Allison's Grandparents house in Warrenton, VA. The trip on the Washington D.C. beltway was pretty intense and made even more so by the precious cargo I was carrying. The 55 mph speed limit on that road must be some kind of joke - people were routinely passing me doing at least 90 mph. I guess that's just how the city folk do things....moving on, we arrived at Joan and Brooks house on Wednesday afternoon. The entire family was coming in for their 60th wedding anniversary party. Macias got to meet his Great-Grandparents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins - the whole works. Despite his Father being a little overwhelmed (my family can fit around a dinner table - Allison's....maybe 20 dinner tables) he was his usual awesome self, taking it all in and was of course the star of the show. My job was to stand there and make sure he had whatever he needed for continued cuteness.

We headed home on Sunday, having to make the drive in one day so that Macias could start at day care and Allison could start her first day back at work. Trying to keep up with the Broncos game with nothing but a Blackberry and AM radio was impossible, and apparently I missed one heck of a finish but we made finally made it.

Overall it was a wonderful trip and so great to see everyone - obviously there are times when your family can get on your nerves, but in the end they're the only people you can always count on. Macias is very lucky to have been born into such a wonderful family full of people who unconditionally love him. As for me, I'm not sure when I'll get back to Maryland again, but I doubt it will take me another seven years. It is, after all, home.

M & M swimming in the Emporia, VA Fairfield Inn's pool

Hopefully Macias will never need prescription shades like his old man...

The Bonner family beach house in Ocean Pines, MD

The view from the back deck of said Bonner beach house...

Macias, his Great-Grandfather and some nerdy guy...

The Bonner clan - clockwise from center: My Grandfather John, Aunt's Cynthia and Jordan, some woman holding a baby, my cousins Justin, Peter, Molly and John's wife Diana.

My Grandfathers house, built by my other Grandfather

View from the back deck - sunset over the Chesapeake Bay

Macias meeting his Grandfather for the first time

Snack time with Grandma Lynn!

Macias and his Great-Grandmother, Joan

A happy family...

Pool time!

2009-09-05T20:17:00.002-04:00

Packet Fantasy Football Draft Day 2009

2009-08-22T18:41:00.001-04:00

I had a little helper this year...

A typical Sunday morning

2009-08-16T12:53:00.002-04:00

Confessions of a family man

2009-08-10T21:40:00.001-04:00

Allison and Macias have taken a mini-vacation to visit Grandma Debbie in Charlotte for a few days, and I find myself missing them both terribly. This is the first night I've spent away from my Son since he arrived, and although it's a whole lot more quiet around the house it still sucks. I keep expecting to hear him cry as he wakes up, but have to keep reminding myself that cry isn't coming for another few days. As for his lovely Mama, I have to say that I'm counting the minutes until she gets home too. While not a strange feeling, it is somewhat unusual in that as anyone who has been married for a long time will tell you, you miss the person but you do very much look forward to your alone time. Despite having several things I want to get accomplished with this break, I find that nothing worth doing is any fun without Mace and his Mom around to do it with. That being said, I'm sure Allison won't mind missing out on at least one item on my list of things to do while they're gone - seeing G.I. Joe...

More Mace

2009-07-29T22:19:00.004-04:00

He never did decide what to put in his first-ever shirt pocket.

What do little boys dream about? My guess: boobs.

Training camp starts Friday!

My babies...

2009-07-26T21:12:00.002-04:00

Attn. Birthers: screw you

2009-07-24T00:08:00.002-04:00

I cannot recall in my political lifetime a phenomenon quite like the Birthers, a very small but very loud group of people who despite being provided with more evidence proving that President Obama was born in Hawaii than I can provide evidence I was born in Maryland, still hang on to their diluted fantasy that they can get rid of a President they don't like by insisting he wasn't born here. The whole thing smells of racism, and I have no idea why these people have so much hate in their hearts. In any case, the story won't go away because the right-wingers in the mainstream media keep bringing it up. Thankfully, we have Jon Stewart out there calling these people and their enablers out. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that he truly is my generations Walter Cronkite....

The purple Lightsaber gambit or "How I managed to give George Lucas yet ANOTHER $20 bucks"...

2009-07-22T16:30:00.002-04:00

My son will undoubtedly love Star Wars - not just because it is encoded into his DNA, but because he's a little boy and little boys love Star Wars. Specifically, Lightsabers. Sure, blasters are cool as is choking someone you don't like with your mind, but there's nothing quite like the subtle hum and brilliant glow of a lightsaber. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age if you will. Little boys (and some bigger boys) will always want one of their own to play with, and until such time as someone actually figures out a way to completely violate the laws of physics and come up with a real life Lightsaber the toys are the closest thing we get to have.

Enter my quest to have a purple Lightsaber on hand for Macias when he's ready. Why purple? Well, I hadn't given it much thought for some reason, but it was recently made clear to me that he's going to want one. My boss's boss's son asked me if "Mace" was named after Mace Windu, the Jedi from Star Wars. I explained that he his name is Macias, but yes his nickname will be (already is I guess) Mace. He then joked that I was going to have to give him my purple Lightsaber, referring to my Force FX Mace Windu 'saber. It will be a few years (like, thirty) before he gets to use Daddy's Lightsabers, but I decided that I had better be ready with something when the time comes - as soon as he sees his (sort of) namesake on the big screen with his purple Lightsaber (it's the one that says BMF) he'll expect one of his own.

So a few weeks ago I finally spotted the toy Mace Windu purple Lightsaber in Target, and picked it up immediately. I did notice however, that it wasn't the same one from Episode 2 and 3 - it was his Lightsaber from Episode 1, which we never actually see him use and according to Wookiepedia is in fact blue. Now, this is the sort of thing that only a hardcore Star Wars nerd would be bothered by, so I decided that Macias wouldn't care about the hilt as long as the blade was purple and plunked down the dough. Then our friends Jeff and LeeAnn came over one night with their son Jake, who was memorized by the various Starship Enterprises strewn about the living room. Jeff would later tell me that he almost bought the Enterprise toy from the new movie, but Jake didn't want it because he knew it was different from the older Enterprise models that he played with at my house. In the back of my mind, I made a mental note that Macias might take similar notice of his Lightsaber since it wasn't the same as the Jedi Master's.

Naturally, George sensed my frustration and had his minions create a purple Mace Windu toy Lightsaber from Episode 2 and sent it to the Bluffton, SC Target to help me out. He is only charging me another $20 for the privilege. Honestly, if Macias is anything like his old man, not only would he notice that he didn't have the correct purple lightsaber, but might even be openly disappointed by that fact. Better not to risk it I say...now he can have the real deal. Kinda.

And yes, I'm aware I'm quite insane. But he's worth it.

This may be enough to get me to visit

2009-07-19T22:43:00.002-04:00

An open letter to the junior Senator from South Carolina...

2009-07-18T22:18:00.001-04:00

The following was e-mailed to Sen. DeMint through his website. I'm posting it here in case the jack-booted thugs come to my door you all will know who to blame...

Sen. DeMint:

I have never written to you before, even though I've been tempted to because of an incident several years ago in which your Mother falsely accused my Mother-In-Law of stealing from her office and made her spend a night in jail. As that was a personal issue that has since been settled I ultimately decided not to contact you. Your subsequent statements and actions through the years have irritated me greatly, but I usually take what you and the rest of the extreme-right have to say with grain of salt. So you can imagine that you must have really stepped in it this time if I feel compelled to contact you....

The Washington Post quotes you as having said on July 17th during a conference call with conservative activists, "If we're able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo" and "It will break him." If this quote is indeed accurate then may I ask...

What is wrong with you? People all across our state need access to quality, affordable health care. My Mother worked on Hilton Head for $10 an hour for nearly eight years as a receptionist. Her subsequent yearly thrity-cent-per-hour raises obviously couldn't keep up with rising health care premiums. As you can probably guess, that wage doesn't go very far on Hilton Head, especially not for a single woman, and she struggled mightily to stay afloat. Here was a person who did everything you Conservatives say she's supposed to do - worked hard, lived within her means, never looked for a hand-out - but couldn't afford to go to the Doctor when she got sick.

She is one of the people you were sent to represent the interests of to the federal government. No matter what policy difference you have with the President on the issue of health care, she and every other single Mom who has sacrificed everything for her children deserve much, much more from their United States Senator. May I suggest that instead of sitting in on conference calls with your friends and scoring cheap political points, you use your position to help come to a compromise with Senate Democrats that will help my Mother and the millions more around our country like her be able to live a long, healthy and happy life.

Sincerely,
Morgan Bonner

PS - I see President Obama trying to help people like my Mother. I see you actively trying to stop him. That should give you an idea of who I'll be voting for when you are up for re-election next year.

Fatherhood - Day 27

2009-07-08T18:36:00.004-04:00

So far I have to say my new favorite thing in the whole wide world is our late-night feeding time, where I give Macias his one bottle of the day while we try to let Mommy get four or five hours uninterrupted sleep. We speak of many things, he and I. Well mostly I speak and he just sort of makes this weezy/cooing noise every once in a while. So far I've imparted to him everything from my extensive knowledge of print media (as in, don't even think about it kid) and computers to my extremely limited knowledge of girls and math. While I certainly look forward to the day he can give me some feedback on these issues, it's always nice to have someone in your life who listens! Tonight's topics are scheduled to include (but are not limited to) President Obama's Russian visit, why Kenny G sucks but Chris Botti is awesome, and things to say to people who hate the Star Wars prequels. Looking forward to it!

Lazy Saturday

2009-07-04T11:49:00.003-04:00

Chomp!

2009-06-19T17:42:00.005-04:00

Cutest. Shirt. Ever.

Sure, I'll sleep for two hours tonight...no problem!

Sup?

BURRRRRRP.

No more pictures Dad...

Fatherhood - Day 5

2009-06-16T10:49:00.005-04:00

It occurs to me that we should have four or five Mother's Day's every year. Allison is amazing - she hasn't slept for more than ninety minutes at a time and no more than twelve hours in five days, yet whenever the clock rolls around to feeding time she's ready to go. I don't know how she's doing it at this point (I don't think the Cream of Wheat and frozen pizzas I'm "cooking" for her are the key ingredients) but doing it she is. As for me, my role is mostly caregiver at this point, which at times is very frustrating for a workaholic. My innate need to be productive is not satisfied by cooking and cleaning, especially not when the baby is crying and I can't seem to make him stop (btw, we have these ear plugs in the press hall to help with the noise when it's running. I swiped a couple for use when he's fussy and can safely say it was the smartest thing I've done since Thursday - much easier to concentrate on diaper changes when you can barely hear him screaming in your face). In any case, whenever I get frustrated I stop and think "well Morgan, what would you be doing right now if he wasn't here?" and the answer is almost always something that I've done a million times before and take very little joy in. It only gets easier from there...

Some manner of sleep aid thing I blew $20 on before he peed on it...

I always took for granted the ability to burp myself until now...

Fish PJ's! Nice!

Introducing....Macias Lee Bonner!

2009-06-13T18:45:00.010-04:00

Macias (May-c-us) was born at 4:59PM on Thursday, June 11th, 2009 in Savannah, GA. He weighed eight pounds, six ounces and was twenty inches tall. Mom and Mace are doing just fine - all are back home and resting comfortably. More to come I'm sure...

A few minutes old with his beautiful Mama...

Just hangin' out...

Meeting Grandma Pat for the first time...

M & M

Back home, in a place he'll be spending quite a bit of time...

I'm relieved that he doesn't appear to have gotten my ears...

The revolution will be Twittered....

2009-06-10T12:34:00.003-04:00

The contractions are getting more and more frequent, which can only mean that we're in the home stretch. For those who care, Twitter will be the official Bonner-baby update mechanism. Don't worry, I'll be on the other side of the curtain so no tweets along the lines of "I SEE HIS HEAD" will be coming from me. Gross. Anyway, Allison will also be updating via Twitter, so if you haven't already go to Twitter.com, sign up and follow us! @morganbonner and @allisonbonner

Nothing left to do but obsess...

2009-06-01T22:59:00.003-04:00

The calendar has officially turned to June and Allison has reached full term, which means that any day now I will meet my son. People keep asking me if I'm ready - if they mean am I ready to go to the Hospital, then yes. The bag is packed, the car seat is installed, all gadgets are fully charged, my co-workers are (in theory) ready for me to be out for two weeks, etc. If they're asking if I'm ready to be a Father the answer is...I think so.

Allison and I recently had a discussion about what we would do if he brought home a few C's or D's on his report card one day. As the Smarty McSmartypants in the family, she would be upset and concerned about such a performance, and would seek to rectify the situation immediately. As someone who once or twice brought home a C or a D himself (Algebra, Physics and Spanish were, shall we say, a struggle for me) I would be far less disappointed. I realize and agree with the importance of a well-rounded education, but if he shows zero interest in Chemistry it isn't the end of the world if he has a hard time memorizing the Periodic table (btw Krypton is the one one I remember, for obvious reasons). Is this going to be my parenting style? Will it be logical to expect him to react to things the way I did, even though our circumstances will undoubtedly be much different? Can I strike the correct balance between being an authority figure and his best friend? What if he doesn't like Star Wars?! Blerg!

Anyway, in the last few days before his arrival these are the things I find myself ~~obsessing over~~ pondering. Oddly, the various scenarios that run though my head are all way down the road in his teenage years - I'm not sure why I'm way more concerned about those days rather than the more immediate future of vomit, poo and insomnia. The only thing I can think of is that my own Father wasn't there for my teenage years and I feel as though I have no template to go by, which is scary. I do wonder what he was thinking a little over thirty-one years ago - I sure wish I could ask him. My guess is that he was a little freaked out, but quietly confident that he would know what to do when the time came. Come to think of it, perhaps I have a template after all....

Obnoxious Groundhog

2009-05-26T19:16:00.001-04:00

Pep Talk

2009-05-18T21:39:00.004-04:00

The following speech was delivered a few weeks ago (but just published yesterday) by Arnold Garson, the publisher of the Louisville Courier-Journal, a paper that shares many similarities with the Packet. For those of us in the Newspaper game, it offers some much needed encouragement and a break from the day-to-day drumbeat of how close to death our industry is....

May 17, 2009

The Courier-Journal is 'alive and well'  

Despite recession, industry changes, newspaper remains strong

Over the years, both as a newspaper editor and as a publisher, I've given lots of speeches to service clubs, trade organizations and other groups — always about the journalism side of the newspaper business: Why and how we do certain things, the nature of our mission, our First Amendment responsibilities, why it is unavoidable that we sometimes make some people mad, and various other issues related to news gathering and news content.

If you were, by chance, hoping for that kind of speech today, I'm going to disappoint you. You'll have to invite me back again sometime if you really want to hear it. Today, I am going to do something I never have done before in forum like this: I'm going to talk about the business side of the newspaper business.

Frankly, judging from the conversations I am having in the community, I suspect this is the issue most of you want to hear about anyway. It has become the newspaper industry's proverbial elephant in the room. For it turns out that the news media, including newspapers, are really very good at shaping the public image of an institution. And the image that has been shaped for us recently is that we are a dying business. Oddly, newspaper executives have assisted in the shaping of this image by being loathe to talk openly about their own business. I'm going to break that mold today.

I want to begin by making one particular point as strongly and as clearly as I know how: The Courier-Journal is alive and well.

Let me say that again in several other ways:

The Courier-Journal remains a profitable business.

The Courier-Journal will get through this recession.

The Courier-Journal is going to be a part of this community's future.

Oh, I can hear your questions already:

What about the Rocky Mountain News , the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and other newspapers that have closed in recent months?

What about the Detroit Free Press , which has dropped home delivery of its print edition four days a week?

What about the Boston Globe , the Chicago Sun-Times , and the Minneapolis Star Tribune, whose print editions have been said to be endangered?

What about the declining revenues and profits of the newspaper industry in general?

And, what about The Courier-Journal's actions in recent months to reduce news content, cut pages from its weekly TV book, reduce staff, and place employees on furlough?

All right, let's take a closer look at these issues.

A few newspapers have closed or will close this year. The number is virtually certain to be less than 1 percent of the nation's dailies. You can compare that with the 10 percent or more of auto dealers nationally that are estimated to be headed for extinction this year, or with the 15 percent decline in the number of Realtors in the U.S. in the past two years. You also can look at it from this perspective: The high-profile newspaper closings you have heard about this year are newspapers that have been operated under Joint Operating Agreements, a vehicle created by Congress more than 70 years ago to try to save failing newspapers. The result was that in Denver, Seattle and Detroit, among other places, No. 2 newspapers were kept alive — artificially, I would argue — through partnerships with larger newspapers in their markets. Essentially, these partnerships have relied upon one revenue stream to support two expense centers. That's never been a great business plan, and we have come to the place where it won't work any more for newspapers — even with federal legislation as the underpinning. Number 2 newspapers in Joint Operating Agreements are going to disappear. This process, incidentally, is not new. It has been ongoing for many years — Cincinnati in 2007, Nashville in 1998 and El Paso in 1997, to name just a few.

There is another group of Number 2 newspapers that is in trouble, and that is newspapers with small, fractional audience shares in metro markets. The Kansas City Kansan , for example, operating in the shadowed fringes of the dominant Kansas City Star , recently closed its print edition. Newspapers in this situation have been declining for years, hanging on to life because their owners reveled in the idea of owning a newspaper — not because their existence made good business sense.

A second category of newspapers that is under serious pressure is what I'll call the heavy-debt group. These are newspapers owned by companies that took on high levels of debt at what now turns out to be the most inopportune of times. Newspaper owners who went heavily into debt to finance acquisition or ownership change in the early 2000s are under pressure. But I hasten to add that the same is true right now for thousands of other businesses in the United States and beyond. Taking on big debt just ahead of bad times is not a formula for success no matter what business you are in. Virtually all of the newspapers that have closed this year or are at risk of closing fall into one of the categories I have described. In addition, there have been a few newspapers — most notably the San Francisco Chronicle and the Boston Globe — that have used the threat of closing as a tool to negotiate wage reductions from unionized workforces.

But as for newspapers in general, I would point out that based on research by newspaper analyst John Morton, the average operating profit for publicly traded newspaper companies in the first three quarters of 2008 was almost 11 percent. Since then, we have entered the worst recession in 80 years, and, yes, that has meant declining ad revenue.

But so far as The Courier-Journal and most other newspapers are concerned, a key fact is that our local market share has not declined. Contrary to popular belief, we haven't lost local business to the Internet or any other advertising medium. Rather, we've lost business because the entire business environment is under pressure. We've actually held market share overall through this most difficult time. To cope with declining ad revenue, however, we've had to do some things that I wish we didn't have to do. We have cut expenses, and because we're such a public and personal business in terms of our product, our expense cuts have been highly visible and widely discussed. I regret having to take this action. But the economic marketplace is littered with the carcasses of businesses that have failed to bring expenses in line with revenue realities. I do not intend to let The Courier-Journal become one of those casualties.

And while I'm on the subject of The Courier-Journal, specifically, you need to know this: The Courier-Journal now reaches 85 percent of the adults in its core market every week with one of its products, and it reaches those people an average of 5.6 times each week. That's the most market penetration we've ever had — up a full five percentage points in the past two years. Now, when you consider such factors as functional illiteracy and that there are some people in our society who just don't care what's going on in the world, it's really not possible to achieve penetration much higher than 85 percent in a metro market. So, at a time when we are said to be a dying industry, The Courier-Journal has both an extraordinarily high market penetration and a growing market penetration.

Here's something else for you to consider before you write an obituary for newspapers: The printed product still provides the most efficient way to deliver a mass of price and product advertising at a moment in time across a broad spectrum of our society. The Internet can provide access to that information, but only the newspaper can efficiently put it in front of a mass audience on a particular day. I recognize that there may come a time when this can be done via the Internet. But The Courier-Journal , which operates the dominant local Web site, is well positioned for that turn of events. Of course, retailers would like to use their own Web sites to reach a mass audience, but efforts to make this happen have not gone well. Consider, for example, that Wal-Mart, the undisputed king of retail, reaches less than 3 percent of total Web users in a given month with its own Web site. Courier-Journal.com reaches 31 percent of its entire market every week, and that number is growing fast.

Here are some other unsavory things you may have heard about newspapers:

Young adults don't read them.

We don't need newspapers any more; the Internet provides more information than anyone ever could want, and it's free.

Newspapers have lost paid circulation because readers are turning to the Internet.

OK, here's what you need to know about these issues:

It turns out that young adults aren't particularly discriminating. They have turned their backs to a greater degree than any preceding generation on the news media in general. But within that framework, newspapers have a very respectable reach among young adults. The Courier-Journal's latest research shows that the printed newspaper reaches 74 percent of the 18-34 year-olds in our market every week. Frankly, that's an amazing reach among young adults for any news organization.

But what about the Internet? Hasn't it made the work that newspapers do obsolete? Can't we easily find anything we want to find on the Internet? The plain and simple answer to these questions is: No.

There is, literally, only a relative handful of professional reporters employed full-time by Internet-based news organizations — compared with the tens of thousands of journalists working for newspapers. The Courier-Journal's news staff numbers 180. By comparison, to my knowledge, the number of professional journalists employed by Internet-only news organizations in the Louisville market is — zero. Bloggers, of course, abound, and may provide a certain kind of information. But this is not investigative reporting that tells you who's doing what and who isn't among public officials and government agencies. The kind of watchdog journalism that is a linchpin of our democratic society still emanates first and foremost from newspapers. I acknowledge a role for TV as well in this equation, but I'll also note that The Courier-Journal probably has a larger news staff than all four of the local TV stations combined.

As a side note here — speaking of comparisons to TV — let's look at the audience power of TV versus newspapers. This year's Super Bowl drew 94.5 million television viewers. It was the second-largest audience ever for a Super Bowl and the third-largest audience for any program in the history of television. American Idol, for example, despite all its hype, has drawn about 23 million viewers. The bottom line is that the Super Bowl's TV reach was only 41.5 percent of the adult population. By comparison, The Courier-Journal reaches 62 percent of the adults in its market every Sunday! And by the way, the Super Bowl audience reach includes viewers who watched as little as 6 minutes of the game.

Now, what about that allegation that newspapers are losing readers to the Internet? Well, certainly, Internet use has grown — but that's not the main reason newspaper circulation is declining.

The print circulation decline has been fueled mostly by two factors.

One is a strategic decision newspapers have made to eliminate certain kinds of home delivery, most notably the ongoing low-price deals. In Denver, for many years, you could get 7-day home delivery of the Post or the Rocky for $1 a month. In many cities, if you were a Sunday-only subscriber, the daily paper may have been offered as an add-on for a very small incremental amount, or even for free. We have concluded that such deals do not fit well with today's economic realities, but ending them has cost us subscribers.

To understand the other major factor that has resulted in circulation decline we need to spin back in time a few years. Remember 2001 and 2002? The Internet was very much alive, but newspapers still were gaining circulation volume. What changed? The answer is, three little words: Do. Not. Call. This federal legislation enacted in 2003 shut down overnight the newspaper industry's No. 1 subscriber acquisition tool, and the only acquisition method that is economically efficient. Newspapers in 2000 were turning over more than 60 percent of their subscriber base every year, but still managing to grow circulation, thanks to a very inexpensive — although, admittedly intrusive — method of finding new subscribers. Imagine what would happen to your own business if its top source of new customers were shut off.

Today, newspapers have reversed the churn equation — the industry retains 60 percent of its subscribers — and The Courier-Journal actually does much better than that with 75 percent retention. But we never have found an inexpensive replacement for telemarketing, and that has translated to lost circulation volume.

There's also a very important footnote to this discussion about declining circulation volume. It is this: Circulation volume is not the most relevant metric. Readership is, and that picture is very different. Newspaper readership actually fares relatively well in today's environment. In the Top 50 markets, which includes Louisville, readership is down about 6 percent over the past 5 years. That compares with a 10 percent decline in the prime-time TV audience and a 6 percent decline in the early evening TV local news audience in 2007 alone.

I can hear your questions, again. Let me try to approximate one of them: OK, Garson, if newspapers really are still a viable business, where is all that stuff about "newspapers are dying" coming from? Surely, there must be some foundation for it? The answer is that much of it is emanating from people who have something to gain by perpetuating a myth.

Here are a couple of examples, based on research by Randy Siegal, president of Parade Publications:

Time magazine, facing its own very difficult set of economic pressures, recently published a column on its Web site that drew wide attention with a listing of "the 10 most endangered newspapers in America." What didn't get such wide attention is the fact that the column was authored by Douglas McIntyre, an executive at a company called 24/7 Wall St., a company that's in the business of providing tips to day-traders who want to jump in and out of depressed stocks. The more depressed newspaper stocks are, the more Mr. McIntyre stands to benefit.

Jeff Jarvis is another consultant who has been very widely quoted about the pending death of newspapers. He has written such articles as "Hitting the coffin nail on the head for newspapers," and "Why newspapers are . . ." ‚Äì I can't say the word in polite company, but it starts with an F. He also is the author of the book, What Would Google Do? a fawning look at a company that has built a business model that is dependent, in part, on content taken from newspapers. But the key thing you need to know about Mr. Jarvis is that he does consulting work for new-media companies that compete directly with newspapers, and, thus has a vested interest in the economic decline of newspapers. The worse we do, the better he does.

None of this is meant to suggest that newspapers are not a business in transition. The digital world is upon us, and I believe that at some point, digital technology will replace newsprint for many readers. It probably will be a product that is portable and quick and approximates the newsprint experience. Perhaps it will center on digital paper, perhaps electronic ink, perhaps something else. The important point, however, is that when the technology does arrive, The Courier-Journal still will have its unique core asset ‚Äì its power to gather and disseminate information that is relevant to the community.

So today, The Courier-Journal's business realities are: a difficult economy, and an industry in transition. But the former is a cyclical situation because the economy will turn. And the latter is a situation on-top-of-which we intend to stay. In the mean time, here is where The Courier-Journal stands:

We are a media company, not a newspaper company. Our business is providing information to a mass of people and using that as a tool to connect buyers with sellers.

We are using the printed newspaper to do this.

We are using other print publications, such as Velocity weekly and our very successful Her Scene quarterly magazine to do it.

We are using our Web sites.

We are using mobile technology.

We are using e-mail.

The mix of these products is changing and will continue to change, but I guarantee you that we will keep up with the pace.
The Courier-Journal also has positioned itself to prosper when the recession turns. This recession has forced us to look hard at our business model and to find expense niches that can be trimmed or eliminated, combined and consolidated. Some of these expenses, in operational and administrative areas, are never coming back. But we do foresee moving quickly to add back content and sales resources, our two key assets, when the time is right. This, coupled with our evolving business model, will enable us to share in the recovery.

Finally, I'd like to conclude today with a scenario dreamed up by my friend, Ken Paulson, who recently retired as editor of USA Today.

The scenario centers on an alternative history in which I will ask you to imagine that Johannes Gutenberg invented not movable type but a digital modem, and that for more than five centuries, all of our information has come to us online. Now, suddenly, today, someone has invented . . . a newspaper, and here's the text of the press conference announcing the arrival of this new-fangled product:

We're pleased to announce a new product that will revolutionize the way you access information. It will save you time and money and keep you better informed than ever before.

Just consider the hours you've spent on the Internet looking for information of interest to you. We've hired specialists who live and work in your hometown to cull information sources and provide a daily report tailored to your community, your friends and your neighbors.

We also know that you sometimes wonder whether you can trust the information you see online. We plan to introduce a painstaking new process called fact-checking in which we actually verify the information before we pass it along to you.
In addition to saving time online, you'll also save money. You won't need so many expensive ink cartridges or reams of your own paper because information will be printed out for you in full color and physically delivered to your home at the same time each day —— all for less than what you would tip the driver from Pizza Hut or Papa Johns.

You worry about your kids stumbling across pornography on the Internet, but this product is pre-screened and guaranteed suitable for the whole family.

And in a security breakthrough, we guarantee this product to be absolutely virus-free. We also promise the elimination of those annoying pop-up ads.

It will be the most portable product in the world, and it doesn't require batteries or electricity. And when the flight attendant tells you to turn off your electronic devices, you can turn this product on, opening page after page without worrying about interfering with the plane's radar.

To top it all off, you don't need a long-term warranty or service protection program. If you're not happy with this product on any day, we'll redesign it and bring you a new one the next day.

Now, Ken's point is two-fold, I think: The Internet, despite all it brings us, has some significant liabilities and shortcomings, while newspapers still provide a unique experience that is of great value in our society. To this I will add three key points of my own:

1)Advertisers still find great value in the large and high-quality audience we provide.

2)Readers still trust us and rely upon us for the kind of reporting that protects the public interest.

3). . . and, I offer this as a promise, not a threat: The Courier-Journal will publish my obituary and yours, but not its own.

How about you let the door nail you in the ass on the way out...

2009-05-16T13:57:00.002-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Comedian in Chief

2009-05-10T11:50:00.001-04:00

For anyone who missed it...

An ode to Trek

2009-05-07T18:10:00.007-04:00

In honor of the new Star Trek movie, I somehow managed to con the esteemed Editor of The Guide into letting me take up two entire pages of his publication for this Friday's edition. Now this lead to a few creative differences between us, as he felt the need to rip my design to shreds, take out entire paragraphs of my column to make room for a 78 pt. headline, and completely eliminate my recap of the Star Trek: Countdown comic prequel, the only actual informative piece in the whole thing. I am grateful to the ~~complete and utter jackass~~ aforementioned esteemed Editor of The Guide for indulging me in my nerdom, but for posterity's sake I am posting my version instead of what actually ran. Enjoy Trekkers!

The moment things changed?

2009-05-05T21:08:00.004-04:00

People have told me that as the Father, it won't be until I actually hold my son in my arms that the enormity of what has happened will finally hit me. I'm sure this is true - indeed, beyond watching a seemingly endless stream of baby clothes, furinture and devices come into my home the pregnancy hasn't really changed much for me. I've attended classes and read books, made playlists for him to listen to something other than people talking to his Mother, and researched 529 college savings plans....but my way of thinking really hadn't changed. This is why it came as such a shock to me as I was standing in the toy isle at Target tonight with the incredibly freakin' awesome new starship Enterprise toy in my hand....and was completely unable to put it in my basket. At any point in my previous 11,360 days on this planet I wouldn't have thought twice about buying that toy starship, taken it home, put batteries in it so the nacelles would light up and proudly display it on a shelf somewhere. Tonight however, it just didn't make sense. Why am I about to spend $30 on this thing, which frankly ain't that much different from the Enterprise-A model I already have sitting on a shelf somewhere? That money could go towards about a million more important things for my family.....so I put it back on the shelf. I walked away feeling a strange mix of disappointment (my life is totally over!) and accomplishment (finally getting serious eh Morgan?!) but took some comfort in the fact that there was nothing to stop me from taking my Enterprise-E model (which is the ship I like better anyway) off the shelf and flying it around the house for a while. I have no intention of letting the child change who I am at heart, but I also have no intention of putting myself before him and his needs in any situation. Besides maybe he'll ask for this Enterprise for Christmas one year and I'll have no problem putting it in the basket :)

I have no idea why....

2009-05-03T21:40:00.003-04:00

but this commercial speaks to me. I guess it's because I can totally relate.

Except for the drinking beer part.

Speaking of which:

Your Ego is Medium

You have what psychologists would call a healthy ego.

You admit that there may be other superstars in the world, but you've only met one or two.

You have high self esteem, but you don't think too highly of yourself.

You believe in yourself, but on occasion you are also able to believe in others.

Though it doesn't happen often, you know how to put your ego in check and let someone else take the reins.

How Big Is Your Ego?

The GOP: divorced from reality

2009-04-25T12:16:00.002-04:00

The Republican base is behaving like a guy who just got dumped by his wife.

By Bill Maher
April 24, 2009

If conservatives don't want to be seen as bitter people who cling to their guns and religion and anti-immigrant sentiments, they should stop being bitter and clinging to their guns, religion and anti-immigrant sentiments. It's been a week now, and I still don't know what those "tea bag" protests were about. I saw signs protesting abortion, illegal immigrants, the bank bailout and that gay guy who's going to win "American Idol." But it wasn't tax day that made them crazy; it was election day. Because that's when Republicans became what they fear most: a minority.

The conservative base is absolutely apoplectic because, because ... well, nobody knows. They're mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. Even though they're not quite sure what "it" is. But they know they're fed up with "it," and that "it" has got to stop.

Here are the big issues for normal people: the war, the economy, the environment, mending fences with our enemies and allies, and the rule of law. And here's the list of Republican obsessions since President Obama took office: that his birth certificate is supposedly fake, he uses a teleprompter too much, he bowed to a Saudi guy, Europeans like him, he gives inappropriate gifts, his wife shamelessly flaunts her upper arms, and he shook hands with Hugo Chavez and slipped him the nuclear launch codes.

Do these sound like the concerns of a healthy, vibrant political party?

It's sad what's happened to the Republicans. They used to be the party of the big tent; now they're the party of the sideshow attraction, a socially awkward group of mostly white people who speak a language only they understand. Like Trekkies, but paranoid.

The GOP base is convinced that Obama is going to raise their taxes, which he just lowered. But, you say, "Bill, that's just the fringe of the Republican Party." No, it's not. The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, is not afraid to say publicly that thinking out loud about Texas seceding from the Union is appropriate considering that ... Obama wants to raise taxes 3% on 5% of the people? I'm not sure exactly what Perry's independent nation would look like, but I'm pretty sure it would be free of taxes and Planned Parenthood. And I would have to totally rethink my position on a border fence.

I know. It's not about what Obama's done. It's what he's planning. But you can't be sick and tired of something someone might do. Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota recently said she fears that Obama will build "reeducation" camps to indoctrinate young people. But Obama hasn't made any moves toward taking anyone's guns, and with money as tight as it is, the last thing the president wants to do is run a camp where he has to shelter and feed a bunch of fat, angry white people.

Look, I get it, "real America." After an eight-year run of controlling the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court, this latest election has you feeling like a rejected husband. You've come home to find your things out on the front lawn -- or at least more things than you usually keep out on the front lawn. You're not ready to let go, but the country you love is moving on. And now you want to call it a whore and key its car.

That's what you are, the bitter divorced guy whose country has left him -- obsessing over it, haranguing it, blubbering one minute about how much you love it and vowing the next that if you cannot have it, nobody will. But it's been almost 100 days, and your country is not coming back to you. She's found somebody new. And it's a black guy. The healthy thing to do is to just get past it and learn to cherish the memories. You'll always have New Orleans and Abu Ghraib.

And if today's conservatives are insulted by this, because they feel they're better than the people who have the microphone in their party, then I say to them what I would say to moderate Muslims: Denounce your radicals. To paraphrase George W. Bush, either you're with them or you're embarrassed by them.

The thing that you people out of power have to remember is that the people in power are not secretly plotting against you. They don't need to. They already beat you in public.

Beacuse I have nothing else to say...

2009-04-11T22:39:00.002-04:00

31st Birthday

2009-03-29T22:25:00.002-04:00

Kind of a strange day. Started out with me being sick as a dog - had the horrible sore throat, unidentified green goo all over the place and enough pressure in my head to lift it into orbit. I stumbled out of bed to find my lovely wife had made me my favorite cake - Chocolate with raspberry jelly - but had done so in a very handy and portable cupcake form factor. Unbeknownst to me she also used the cure for the common head cold in the ingredients, because within an hour of eating that cupcake I was back to about 85%. We departed for Savannah and day two of our child-birthing class, where a day after seeing a video of a normal vaginal birth I was treated to a video of a normal c-section. Let's just say neither was imagery I particularly ever need to see again. Still, I learned a lot and was comforted by the stories (both happy and sad) that the nurse practitioner who led the class told the group - you definitely got the sense that the hospital staff had seen and done it all when delivering a baby, and that everything would be ok. After the class was over we headed home and while sitting at a red light on Oglethorpe we heard the telltale screech of someone slamming on their breaks - just in time to witness a woman getting hit by said car while riding her bike. Just like in the movies - the sound was the same, she hit the windshield then rolled down the hood and hit the pavement. I pulled over on the side of the street and Allison called 911 (who strangely didn't pick up until about the 8th ring). One of the benefits of living in a city - the cops were there in about three minutes, and the ambulance in less than five. Hopefully the woman was ok - we could tell that she was moving around, but wasn't getting up. Anyway, from there we went and saw possibly the worst movie anyone who just witnessed someone nearly dying could see, and that was "Knowing". If we had it to do over again, we'd prolly see Monsters vs. Aliens and call it a day. An end-of-the-world thriller wasn't exactly what the Doctor ordered. From there, it was time to go to work, as tomorrow is the first combined Packet/Gazette section and I needed to be there to make sure things go swimmingly. So like I said, kind of a strange day. Though, it will probably pale in comparison to my 32nd birthday, when I will have a nine month old to hang out with! Weird!

I'm with this guy...

2009-03-23T22:43:00.002-04:00

Many people who know I bleed orange and blue have asked me to comment on the Jay Cutler saga, and even though it's been discussed and discussed to the point of disgust, I'll throw in my two cents anyway....

My loyalties lie with my QB. I have no idea who this Josh McDainels cat is, but he has already shown himself to be a complete jackass. After watching his interview on NFL Network tonight, he proved to the consummate New England Patriot - when asked tough questions, give non-answers. He had an opportunity to speak to every Denver Bronco fan, including this one, and chose not to say one meaningful word.

You would think that fixing the 29th ranked Defense in the NFL would be his first priority, but no, apparently first he figured he needed to run our Pro Bowl QB out of town. Anybody who watched the Broncos last year knows that they only reason they won 8 games in the first place was because of the QB and the head coach. Makes perfect sense then to toss them both out I suppose. The very idea of giving up a 25 year old Pro Bowl Quarterback is so asinine that I'm still in disbelief that it happened. I've also had it with the owner Pat Bowlen who said he was going to be more in control of the team after firing Shannahan, yet has been damn-near AWOL during this whole situation.

Now I'm sure Cutler's agent is pushing this hard, presumably looking for a new contract, and it would be nice if the player could reign him in for the good of the team. But it comes down to this - I have no interest in my team becoming the Denver Patriots, no matter how many Super Bowl's they've won. The Denver Broncos that I know (or knew) valued loyalty (to our players), honesty (not videotaping people), and most importantly, their fans. Hopefully this will get fixed, otherwise I couldn't care less if we go 4-12 for the next three years if that's what it takes to get McDainels out of town.

Here comes the Bride...

2009-03-21T22:12:00.006-04:00

Tonight I had the privilege of giving away my Mother at her wedding....some photos from the evening...

The happy couple

The happy couple plus the expecting couple

Unbeknownst to me, I had a toast to deliver...

Prepare for awesomeness....

A competing photographer...

10 years ago today...

2009-03-20T23:30:00.004-04:00

I'm sure it's the same with everyone, but I still remember the first moment I saw my wife. At 2PM in the afternoon on March 20, 1999 I looked out the window at Barnes and Noble and saw her walking towards the front door. As soon as I laid eyes on her I had one thought run through my mind. It wasn't a "that's the girl I'm going to marry!" and it certainly wasn't a "that's the mother of my children!". No, it was in no way elegant or poignant - but I'll never forget it. It was, simply:

"Wow, she is hot!"

Happy anniversary babe. One decade down, hopefully many more to go....

Don't worry, we'll start with Lego Star Wars

2009-03-17T22:42:00.003-04:00

Are Violent Video Games Adequately Preparing Children For The Apocalypse?

Ouch

2009-03-11T13:38:00.002-04:00

Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette to cut staff 11 percent

Well, there you have it. People are in reasonably good spirits all things considered, but everyone who was let go will continue on for another three weeks, so it doesn't feel like anything has changed yet. Except for me that is - the Ad Designer manager gave her notice last week, so they've put me in charge of those folks in addition to my Pre-Press/IT responsibilities. My first task was to hire a part-time Ad Designer, who started today - he himself was laid off from Bluffton Today last month, so here's hoping their loss will be our incredible gain.

No Facebook for Morgan

2009-03-08T10:25:00.005-04:00

Well, by a vote of 15-13, the nays have it, and I will not be joining Facebook. This wasn't exactly a scientific poll, and I'm reasonably certain someone figured out how to vote twice for yes, but in any case the decision is now made (despite what some people, who believed I had already made up my mind to join and was now trying to save face, think. Ha!). Thanks to all who participated - and hey, I have at least 28 readers! Wow! I gotta put some Google ads on this thing and retire!

PS - For the folks who did want to see me on Facebook, find me on Twitter instead.

Obama's Elf

2009-02-25T20:06:00.000-05:00

So I've been a little busy lately...

2009-02-22T11:09:00.001-05:00

No time for political ranting lately - I have been inundated with new work at...umm....work these last few weeks. At the end of last year we found out we'd be losing our contract with Yellow Book, with whom we'd been printing directories for more than a year. They simply didn't have the work to keep us going along with their own presses, so that was it - we printed our last directory two weeks ago. We all left on good terms and hopefully when things turn around they will come back, but in the meantime that left us with a HUGE revenue hole to fill. So last month my boss went driving around the Lowcountry and Coastal Empire (fancy words for Hilton Head, Bluffton, Beaufort and Savannah) picking up every weekly/bi-weekly and monthly he could find, then calling their publishers and offering them a deal. Our press is state-of-the-art, and we can produce far better quality than other folks and do it for less money, which is something everyone in the publishing business is looking for. So within the span of a month, he has landed four new publications, with things looking promising for three others. While it would take at least a dozen new contracts to equal the Yellow Book work, it's better than nothing. So the upside is that we're making money for the company that it wasn't counting on, and every little bit helps. Also, it keeps me and my staff employed, so there's that. The downside is the amount of work it has created for us is staggering - it's not so much the printing, as we've got that down to a science. Mostly it's the time spent coordinating with a bunch of different people who work at these various publications. We were used to dealing with one person at Yellow Book, and I didn't appreciate how easy that made things. We're currently dealing with folks who send us photos in RGB, make PDF's with EPS files (big no no) and are using Multi-Ad instead of InDesign or Quark. It's been a bit of a challenge, but the whole department is pitching in and making sure we are getting all this new work done at a very high level while still maintaining our responsibilities to the Packet and Gazette.

Speaking of which, for as much money as we're bringing in, I know it's not enough and there are going to be some changes coming to the Packet. I don't know precisely what they are, but I have a feeling that my work-life may be quite different here in the next few weeks. We all hear rumors of lay-offs, furloughs, pay cuts, you name it. I won't pretend I haven't looked around at OS X Sys Admin jobs in the state of Colorado, but a) we couldn't sell the house anyway and b) no matter what happens, I still feel a sense of loyalty to the Packet. Not to any particular individual (the guy who originally hired me is long gone, and the other guy who hired me works on Mars now!), but to the company that gave a punk-nineteen-year-old-who-thought-he-knew-everything a chance despite his lack of college or equivalent work experience. I feel like I have a duty to do everything I can to help turn this mess around. For the few who care, I'll post when the other shoe drops, whenever that might be.

You tell 'em Rachel....

2009-02-08T16:35:00.000-05:00

Quote of the day

2009-02-01T10:28:00.001-05:00

"I am seriously glad to be here tonight at the annual Alfalfa dinner. I know that many you are aware that this dinner began almost one hundred years ago as a way to celebrate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. If he were here with us tonight, the General would be 202 years old. And very confused."

-- President Obama, in remarks last night

It's funny, and yet it's not

2009-01-28T11:52:00.001-05:00

LINKY

GOP Bill Would Eliminate Middle Class Income Tax by Eliminating Middle Class Income

JANUARY 28, 2009

Washington - In response to the current economic crisis, Senate Republicans introduced a bill today that would simultaneously eliminate the income tax and the income for the so-called ‘middle class,’ which the senators identified as those American households earning less than $100,000 a year. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill “accomplished a difficult objective, difficultly.” The bill may face tough opposition in the Democratic-controlled Senate, although that is unlikely due to the fact that many Democrats are known to have no fortitude of any kind.

For McConnell and his Republican colleagues, these desperate times present the perfect opportunity to bring about a change they have been seeking for years, namely removing the need for companies to pay salaries to their workers. “We actually had the idea of doing away with the wages first,” McConnell said. “But we’re aware that this idea of paying the workers has a long history in this country and that eliminating pay would potentially cause problems for us and for the bill. So we said, ‘What can we do to kind of stem that tide of anger that might result from people having their wages, their income taken away?’ But we couldn’t come up with anything, because all the ideas required the business owners and the corporations to give something, and we couldn’t have that. So finally we came to the realization that, ‘Hey, since they don’t have income, they don’t have income taxes. That’s how we’ll frame it. As them winning something. Everyone loves to win something.’ And we all knew we had the right idea.”

Asked about expected resistance from Senate Democrats, McConnell said, “Well, we don’t really worry about them too much, the Democrats. All we have to do is frame it in a certain way that makes them look weak. Like, let’s say, ‘The Democrats obviously hate American workers and would like them to have to pay this incredibly crippling income tax.’ Something like that. And it’s amazing, because none of them usually even say the obvious thing, which would be to accuse us of hating them because we took their pay away. They don’t even think of it. It’s weird. But in the event that they do, we could use something like, ‘You know who else loves the fact that American companies have to pay wages to the workers? Osama bin Laden.’ You say something like that, and runs and hides behind the lectern and whimpers softly. At least, that’s what usually happens.”

In terms of the American people themselves, many of whom will lose their main source of income should the bill pass, McConnell said they required a slightly different, but no more difficult approach. “Well, first of all, you focus on the fact that they’ll no longer have to pay their income tax. That we’re giving them that. You just keep pounding that home, and you leave out the part about them no longer having income, as much as you can. And then, what you do is, you tie it to a hot-button social issue like gay marriage or abortion or something, and you’ll get a lot of them to go along. So you may hear us talking about how, if we allow people to have income, they’ll try to buy things for themselves, like televisions. And on those televisions they’ll see programs about homosexuals and so-called ‘alternative lifestyles’ and things of that nature. So if they don’t want to see those things, and have the minds of their children polluted, possibly beyond repair, they should be glad they’ll no longer be receiving this tainted, dangerous ‘income.’ And that’ll work like a charm. They’ll be eating out of a can of dog food on the corner, but they’ll think we did the right thing.”

Quote of the day

2009-01-23T15:08:00.000-05:00

"I won."

-- President Obama, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, in response to Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) on why he's not including more Republican ideas in his economic stimulus plan.

For all the Price Is Right fans....

2009-01-23T08:06:00.000-05:00

Huh.

2009-01-22T18:18:00.002-05:00

"If I'm a girl, I already have approximately 6 million eggs in my ovaries. By the time I'm born, they'll dwindle to around 1 million."

From Allison's "Countdown to My Birth" day calendar at 19 weeks and one day. I have to admit, I didn't see that coming.

Ok, so I may have shed one tear

2009-01-20T14:51:00.003-05:00

My favorite parts of President Obama's inaugural speech:

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

"So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

'Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

"America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

One week to go...

2009-01-12T17:22:00.001-05:00

As a President who is capable of stringing together two coherent sentences in a row is getting set to be inaugurated next Tuesday, Slate complies a list of the top 25 Bushisms of all time....

1. "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."—Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

2. "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."—Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

3. "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"—Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

4. "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across
the country."—Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

5. "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican."—declining to answer reporters' questions at the Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001

6. "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''—Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

7. "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense."—Washington, D.C., April 18, 2006

8. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda."—Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

9. "I've heard he's been called Bush's poodle. He's bigger than that."—discussing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as quoted by the Sun newspaper, June 27, 2007

10. "And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq."—meeting with Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008

11. "We ought to make the pie higher."—South Carolina Republican debate, Feb. 15, 2000

12. "There's an old saying in Tennessee—I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee—that says, fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again."—Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

13. "And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it."—speaking on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

14. "We'll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers."—Houston, Sept. 6, 2000

15. "It's important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It's not only life of babies, but it's life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet."—Arlington Heights, Ill., Oct. 24, 2000

16. "One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures."—U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 3, 2000

17. "People say, 'How can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil?' You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in's house and say I love you."—Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

18. "Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness."—CNN online chat, Aug. 30, 2000

19. "I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep on the soil of a friend."—on the prospect of visiting Denmark, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2005

20. "I think it's really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to—the beauty of playing baseball."—Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2006

21. "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."—LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

22. "You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war president. No president wants to be a war president, but I am one."—Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2006

23. "There's a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, 'I don't want you to let me down again.' "—Boston, Oct. 3, 2000

24. "They misunderestimated me."—Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

25. "I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."—Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

EDIT: 26. "I'm telling you there's an enemy that would like to attack America, Americans, again. There just is. That's the reality of the world. And I wish him all the very best."—Washington, D.C., Jan. 12, 2009

Sad

2009-01-08T23:17:00.001-05:00

Yesterday it was learned that Electronic Gaming Monthly, a magazine that I've subscribed to since its inception in 1989 has ceased its print publication after being sold to some company called UGO Entertainment which is apparently owned by the Hearst Corporation. Unlike the PC Magazine situation, EGM's entire staff was let go, not just their production staff.

It always seemed to me that EGM struck the correct balance between print and online - you could go to the website for the daily news, yet have in-depth feature reporting and reviews available only in the print version. You know, actual journalism. Apparently though, the advertising just isn't there to support the magazine (or more to the point, to support their wonderful 30% profit margin) so that's it. Obviously magazines and newspapers are entirely different animals - our market is different than their market, they have to print and distribute all over the country whereas we stick to our little corner, etc. Still, seeing things like this are obviously scary for someone in the printing business. I know I'm working on my plan B, and hopefully everyone in our industry is as well.

So I say goodbye to EGM, something that I looked forward to getting in my mailbox every month for the last 20 years. I always especially looked forward to the April issue, to see if I could spot the April Fools joke. It's probably fitting that it's a Street Fighter game that is on the cover of the final issue - if I had all the quarters I put into the Street Fighter 2 arcade machine back I'd be a wealthy man, and it was the game that paved the way for the Soul Calibur's and Virtua Fighters that came after. Hadouken!

Change I can't believe in

2008-12-30T19:56:00.002-05:00

The news that Mike Shanahan had been fired came across the wire as I was stuffing my face full of peanut butter chocolate christmas tree. I'm not one to shock easily, but some tree nearly fell out of my mouth before I realized it was hanging open. I've heard all the reasons why he had to go from the fair-weather Bronco fans, and they're all complete and utter BS. Strip him of the VP of Operations role if you must, but in the end there is no better head football coach out there right now than Shanny. Did he fail to challenge a play he should have? Did he forget to watch film of the Chargers last week? I'm pretty sure he knows which way the wind is blowing and when to defer the overtime coin toss unlike Jeff Fisher. The bottom line is this a mistake and there isn't someone better out there to replace him.

My lasting image of Coach Shanahan will always be from Super Bowl 33 - watching him on the sidelines, pouring over the photos of the Falcons defense. He goes over to the bench with Elway and shows him what he's seeing, and he's saying "it's going to be wide open!". Morten Anderson misses a chip-shot field goal, and on the very next play Elway loads it up and throws an 80 yard bomb to Rod Smith for the touchdown that effectively ended the game. He earned his title of "Mastermind" and a few first round-draft-pick-defensive-busts will never change that. I wish him the best of luck in whatever he decides to do next, and sincerely hope that he goes to the Lions or something and has them in the Super Bowl in three years time. Maybe then Bronco-nation will realize it just made a pretty big mistake.

Christmas in the Carolinas

2008-12-19T21:01:00.012-05:00

We've returned from a trip to Charlotte and Greenville (Greer, technically) where we spent time with our respective Mom's and saw the Broncos get pummeled by the Panthers. I have to say that it's a lot more fun to spend all that money and drive all that way when your team wins, but it was good to spend time with family that we don't get to see nearly enough....anyway, some pics from the trip (as a lowly Pre-Press droid, I can of course only afford tickets in the nosebleeds...) for your inspection....

A little orange and blue in a sea of teal...the baby had his/her jersey on as well!

Just before the opening kickoff (the highlight of the game)

Jay Cutler brings the Broncos offense to the line...

And goes back to pass...

A lonely Mastermind...

My mother-in-law's new place. There's something about a house on a hill...

Allison after opening the BEST PRESENT SHE'S EVER RECEIVED!!!

Seagulls invade Lake Robinson, near my Mom's new house...

My Mother and my only sibling, K'Ehleyr (K-lar). Yes, K'Ehleyr.