Good News – Bad News

First the good news.  Last night Lex & I finished building his 1st skateboard.  We actually laminated 7 layers of wood, sanded, painted 2 colors, cut out a graphic for the grip surface, attached trucks, bearings and wheels.

The maiden voyage came at about 8pm last night and I don’t think the board has left his side since.

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The bad news: I’m having surgery to repair a classic groin hernia tomorrow.

Lex at Red Sox v Yankees

Lex and I went to the first of a 4-game series Thurs night. Lex’s first night game and first Red Sox game (he learned some new swear words.) We were both really pumped for the evening. Got there very early, in time to watch all of batting practice. Went to the outfield wall to try to catch a ball. Didn’t, altho a ball nearly caught us. Drank soda, ate Cracker Jack, Foot-Long Hot Dogs, Cotton Candy and Lemonade Sherbet. Priceless.

One problem, the Yankees never showed up: 7-0.

Waiting on \"The Short Porch\"

View from my seats THIS YEAR.

My Birthday Presents

Sort of a 2-step process. First thing I decided early on to get was an AppleTV.

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I really have very little use for this, but I wanted it anyway. It allows me to rent or buy movies over the internet, including HD movies. (Only 720p, tho, and I was originally gonna wait for it to be upgraded to 1080.) Works really well, particularly since I have the bandwidth thru my FIOS service. Also holds all family photos and shows them in HD, an upgrade over the Tivo SD that I used to use for this. Plus, it holds my music. Also an upgrade, as I used to get occasional stalls when streaming music wirelessly from my computers.

Second step took some time to decide, but after getting the AppleTV, I made the decision pretty quickly. We have a Netflix account, which serves us quite well. The kids watch a lot of movies. But invariably, it seemed, any grown-up movie we’d get would be sent back unwatched. Lis and I just never seem to find the time. (Either I go to bed too early, or the kids go to bed too late.) So I tested a program called Handbrake (available on PC, too) that would rip DVDs directly for use by the AppleTV. One click, and you’re done. Only problem, on my 5 yr old laptop it took 20 hrs.

So I bought a new computer. The Mac Mini.

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My main, 8 yr old computer is dying, making horrible noises, freezing, quitting apps, etc. And I really didn’t feel like trying to fix it. Plus I had recently moved it down to the desk in my bedroom, connected to a small LCD. The Mini will fit the desk much better than the old tower does.

So thanks again guys.

AppleTV: $300

MacMini: $680

Giants winning the Super Bowl: ……..well, you know.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving…

I hope. For those of you who weren’t able to make Gary’s 50th birthday party, we gave him what may turn out to be just that gift. We gave him a $25 bet that the Yankees would win the World Series (oh well), and another $25 bet that the Giants would win the Super Bowl.  What I don’t recall is the odds…I think either 30 to 1 or 40 to 1. Funny thing is, Gary isn’t sure where he put the ticket.  At this point, he has decided not to look for it so as not to jinx them. I agree, but I certainly hope he’ll have to look for it after the game.

Five years ago I was in Arizona at a business conference. Archie Manning was the motivational speaker at one of our meetings. At the question and answer session, one of my co-workers asked Archie which son was a better quarterback. Surprisingly he said Eli! He stated that Eli had better control than Peyton. He certainly seems to be showing that control in his last few games. Hopefully it will continue.

Wish Gary and the Giants luck!

Oh My Aching Knees!

Well, one anyway. The other isn’t so bad. Today I’m going to get my left knee “scoped”.

I have a “torn meniscus”. Don’t know yet how extensive, but I don’t think it’s too bad. The other knee shows some degeneration, but doesn’t need surgery yet.

How many of us have had knee surgery?

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