syslblog

Size Matters

2011-08-28T08:47:00.000-05:00

State Fair Parade

2011-08-14T07:42:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

On Top of the World

2011-06-07T18:16:00.006-05:00

Now that there is a view!

This is how the world looks from the Viewing Deck of the Willis Tower in Chicago (Sears Tower to us old school types).

Massive Dramatic Storm Hits Beach in Helsinki Finland

2010-10-03T19:52:00.000-05:00

So Tell Me, What Do You Make?

2010-09-28T21:33:00.000-05:00

Advanced Cat Yodeling

2010-09-14T18:15:00.000-05:00

9/11 Limited Budweiser Commercial

2010-09-12T09:39:00.000-05:00

This is a very classy commercial. Wish I'd posted it yesterday.

The Pill: Still Safe, Effective, and Threatening After All These Years

2010-09-05T12:11:00.001-05:00

Happy 50th to the pill. The Humanist has a great article this month on its safety record, and its opposition.

Jeremy Rifkin on "the empathic civilization" | Video on TED.com

2010-08-30T21:20:00.000-05:00

Jeremy Rifkin on "the empathic civilization" | Video on TED.com

I Am a Paleontologist

2010-08-05T19:40:00.000-05:00

Fox News is BP oil spill misinformation clearinghouse

2010-06-26T13:26:00.000-05:00

Just gotta love that Fox News

Incredible Fishing Video

2010-06-26T13:24:00.000-05:00

Drum Cover of Seven Days

2010-04-03T11:43:00.001-05:00

Snowball Fight

2009-12-12T15:33:00.000-06:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Happy Carl Sagan Day!

2009-11-07T09:29:00.001-06:00

Photo Crashing Squirrel

2009-09-10T12:42:00.005-05:00

This is a cute story, that produced a very cute picture:

I.Q. Test? Really?

2009-08-23T10:05:00.046-05:00

My family and I attended a local Cornfest yesterday, which is generally an enjoyable family experience. This year was enjoyable too, except for some shenanigans taking place a short distance from the stage (more about that later), and some people who felt it was necessary to distribute what turned out to be some very dishonest literature.

I became aware of the literature while standing in line to get some food from one of the local vendors, when a young woman approached my 11 year old, and asked him to "read this to see how smart you are" while handing him the following card:

I looked it over and quickly realized it wasn't an I.Q. test at all, but an optical illusion using words. If you look closely at the phrase within each triangle, you'll see that one of the words is repeated. Spotting the repeated word wasn't obvious to us on the first pass because a) we weren't really expecting to be fooled since we were led to believe we were taking an I.Q. test, and b) our brains tend to group letters and words together when we read them, making it easy to overlook repeated words, especially when they're organized to make it easier to overlook them, as was clearly the case with this card.

A classic example of this grouping phenomenon is illustrated in the following paragraph:

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

So of course I was curious about what I might find on the other side, since the first side was clearly misleading. When I flipped it over, this is what I found:

It starts by explaining what may or may not have been noticed in the triangles on the front, but then goes to the heart of what this card is really about when it says "Here is another intelligence test". It didn't take long to realize that the initial stuff was just a primer for what turned into a bait and switch scheme. The front side had nothing to do with intelligence, and unsurprisingly, the back side didn't either. What you encounter instead is what I heard one patron on the street refer to as "trolling for Jesus".

I had to laugh out loud when I read how to answer the following "intelligence test" questions with a Yes or No as if they were the only possible answers. I decided to answer them, as the card requested "OUT LOUD", but not within the constraint required by the card. Here are the questions along with my answers:

Question 1: Is there a God?

Answer: Maybe, maybe not. Nobody really knows for sure. This is a question that has intrigued humankind since the dawn of man's ability to ponder such things, and the answer remains as elusive today as it ever has been. Anyone claiming to know for sure is either delusional or lying.

Question 2: Does God care about right and wrong?

Answer: The question makes no sense without an affirmative answer to question 1. Since that question is unanswerable, this one has no answer either.

Question 3: Are God's standards the same as ours?

Answer: See answer to question 2.

Question 4: Will God punish sin?

Answer: See answer to questions 3.

Question 5: Is there a Hell?

Answer: Maybe, maybe not. Like question 1, it's unanswerable. If I had to speculate, I'd say it's probably a place conjured up to instill fear in non-believers and believers alike as a way to keep them in line. Since its existence cannot be verified through the methods we use to gain knowledge, I believe no opinion carries any more weight than any other. There are no authoritative opinions on the concept of Hell.

Question 6: Do you avoid Hell by living a good life?

Answer: Following a now recognizable pattern of this supposed "I.Q. Test", we again encounter an unanswerable question built upon prior unanswerable assumptions. The only way to answer this question is to refer to the answer from question 5.

Of course, following all the questions on the back of the card are a list of the "correct" answers. The message being that yes there is a God and a Hell, and no, you can't avoid Hell by being a good person. Never mind that this message contradicts the notion of a loving God and savior who was sent to Earth to die for all of our sins. Especially when that's the message the card ultimately wants to deliver, but then, logic and good intent is not what this card is about. It starts by misrepresenting itself as being about how smart you are, then delivers a message that seems to contradict the very foundation of what Christianity is supposed to be built upon. But it doesn't end there.

Following what is clearly a gullibility test rather than an I.Q. test, it states that "you can't afford to be wrong". But what never seems to occur to its authors is what might happen to those who mislead others while trying to get them to believe something. Claiming to know things you can't possibly know is called lying. Seems as though Living Waters Publications needs to heed their own advice and "Read the Bible daily and obey what you read".

But enough about the card. As ridiculous as it was, there was something even worse going on in one of the vendor slots on the side of the street. This particular one was located right across the street from where we were getting our food, and probably the source for the card handed to my 11 year old.

This slot was set up with a man standing on a small platform with a microphone, and out in front of him was another microphone on a stand for patrons to converse with him. I heard him talking while we were getting food but didn't really pay much attention since we were hungry, and I generally ignore people with microphones at large gatherings. Anyway, after we sat down to eat, I decided to run back to get a refill on my drink. The line was long, so I had time to listen in on what was happening on the other side of the street.

The man on the platform was asking the crowd if there was anyone who honestly believed they were a good person. This caught my attention since it seemed to be related to the bogus card my son had received. A few people raised their hands and one young gentleman was asked to step up to the second microphone. When he did, he was asked if he considered himself a good person. The young man answered yes, he was a good person. The man on the platform then asked him if he had ever in his life told a lie, even a small one. The young man answered yes, that he had. The man on the platform then asked him "what does that make you?"

I knew right then what was coming. The obvious implication being that if you've lied, then you must be a liar. That's what the man on the platform was fishing for anyway, but the man at the microphone wasn't cooperating, at least not at first. He responded with the only reasonable answer to the question, his answer, "it makes me human".

His answer was dead on, of course, but the man on the platform was having none of it. He wanted an admission from the young man that he was a liar, and he wasn't going to quit until he got it. He persisted, and it wasn't long before the young man gave in, and finally admitted "yes, I'm a liar".

And this is where the hard sell came in, where the man on the platform got to point out that "see, you're not a good person after all". I knew what would follow, because I've seen this kind of street manipulation before from a guy named Ray Comfort. What follows is a litany of fear mongering where the victim is convinced that they're Hell bound. It's a disgusting thing to watch, because it's all about slight of hand manipulation.

I found it too painful to watch as this poor young man was being manipulated like that, so I left the area and returned to my family. And as we were leaving the festival, I couldn't help but wonder how many other vulnerable people were going to be taken advantage of by this street charlatan. I hope this isn't a sign of what the Cornfest is turning into, because if it is, they can kiss my future dollars goodbye.

Barney Frank Tells It Like It Is.

2009-08-22T09:10:00.001-05:00

August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

2009-06-28T22:41:00.001-05:00

February 2, 1947 - June 25, 2009

2009-06-28T22:11:00.004-05:00

Lincoln Made My Story Possible

2009-02-13T09:21:00.003-06:00

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

Take Me Home, Country Roads

2008-12-16T20:31:00.002-06:00

If I had to describe beauty, I'd play this song.

Rush on Colbert Report

2008-11-22T11:35:00.001-06:00

Don't Close Your Eyes

2008-11-08T14:04:00.000-06:00

Timeless classic...

Olbermann Speaks Out

2008-10-17T11:01:00.003-05:00

Increasingly violent rhetoric from the McCain campaign inspired this comment by Kieth Olbermann.

2008 Presidential Election Summary

2008-10-08T20:12:00.005-05:00

Yep, that pretty well sums things up. I don't know how the choice could be made any clearer.

Parkside Cross Country

2008-10-06T19:49:00.001-05:00

Alex and Nick pose with their Cross Country Team after an away meet.

That really large trophy is for 1st place overall, the other four are 1st and 2nd place trophies for 4 other categories. Basically, they did very well.

November Rain

2008-09-26T14:09:00.001-05:00

Take it away slash...

Bittersweet Symphony

2008-08-17T13:22:00.003-05:00

Great song with a dark outlook on life. I used to adhere to this type of thinking, but bringing kids into the world has a way of changing your outlook. Now it's just a neat sounding song that brings back memories of a former self. Enjoy!

Back at Ya, John!

2008-08-15T10:24:00.012-05:00

I've really tried to avoid going political with this blog, but seeing how John McCain has taken the low road with his Obama is a celebrity in the likeness of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears ad...

I was pleased to see that Obama's campaign has struck back. Take that John!

Paris Hilton also responded to the ad, and it's brilliant. Take that too, John!

When a "celebrity" like Paris Hilton can out gun the Republican contender for President intellectualy, what does that say about the state of the Republican party?

Truckloads.

The Unicorn in the Garden

2008-06-25T19:08:00.004-05:00

An old classic that still makes me smile.

Little Willy

2008-03-21T19:25:00.001-05:00

Imagine

2008-03-14T20:57:00.000-05:00

A Night with the AVP

2008-02-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

The AVP stopped in Bloomington on their 2008 Hot Winter Nights Tour, and we were there to watch the action.

Here Michele is posing with 6' 3" Kerri Walsh who currently ranks second in all-time wins.

Michele poses with Holly McPeak who took the women's title at the night's event.

Here is Michele posing with Angie Akers who finished second.

We had a great time, we really loved it that the athletes were so accessible. Michele's already in the planning stage to catch them in Chicago this spring.

Oldie but a Goodie

2008-02-01T13:41:00.000-06:00

Prairieland Powerbots

2008-01-27T22:07:00.000-06:00

Up to now I haven't blogged much about this year's robotics. I plan to post a bunch of photos and talk about the season when I get a chance, it's just a very busy time right now. This photo was taken at the Regional Tournament in Peoria.

For a preview, I do have some photos uploaded at Shutterfly, feel free to check em' out.

Victory!

2008-01-25T20:36:00.000-06:00

Last night it was Parkside vs Tremont, and the final match of the evening featured our one and only Alex who came out on top. He fought like a champion.

The Disintegrator

2008-01-20T11:04:00.000-06:00

School Board Presentation

2008-01-16T20:35:00.000-06:00

Today, the Prairieland Powerbots robotics team stood before the Unit 5 school board to present their findings from an energy audit they conducted at their school. The presentation and audit completed two requirements for this year's F.I.R.S.T. Lego League Robotics Challenge. This was the Powerbot's 3rd presentation to "members of the community", and they were awesome.

This weekend we will be going to Chicago for the State competition, after finishing 4th in the Regional competition in December. I'll be posting pictures when I get a chance, it's been a very busy last couple of months.

Lady Madonna

2008-01-13T20:33:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T12:32:00.000-06:00

We had a lot of fun opening presents this year. The kids had asked for an Xbox 360 as their major gift. We got it for them, but decided to have a little fun giving it to them.

It was the only present that wasn't under the tree, so after everything was opened, we asked them if they had had a good Christmas. They both answered politely that they had, but we could tell that they seemed a teensy bit down. I then reached up towards the top of our tree and pulled out a folded piece of paper stuck in the branches and exclaimed "what's this?". they both perked up, walked over, and started reading from the note. It said:

A grand gift awaits, but you must solve this riddle to find the next clue:

I am under a place of slumber
in a room with a view of lumber

They knew immediately that it must be referring to one of our bedrooms facing the backyard where we have our wood stacked. When they looked under Nick's bed, they found a bag containing a can opener. They looked a little perplexed, but opened it at our urging. Tucked in the packaging they found another note, this one said:

I'm on the table
without a label,
open me
and set me free

They remembered a can sitting on our kitchen table that Michele and I had earlier drawn attention to. We had asked them who put it there, and where was the label? All tongue in cheek of course, we knew exactly where it had come from.

They used the can opener, and inside they found another note, this one said:

Come down...
...and PLAY!

Now they knew to run down the basement. In front of the tv they found a stack of presents containing the Xbox 360, extra controllers, and assorted games. They were delighted!

I'm sure it's a Christmas they won't soon forget.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all some good gaming. I know we will. :)

Civil War in Four Minutes

2007-12-20T21:27:00.000-06:00

This is really cool. It's an animation showing the land held by the North and the South throughout the Civil War, as well as the casualties as they mounted. Gives a unique perspective of the war, both in the context of its geographical bounderies, and its cost in human lives.

Winter Fun

2007-12-20T20:32:00.000-06:00

A small winter storm last weekend inspired some winter fun. Here are Alex and Nick sledding with cousins Jessica and Anna. John and I were on hand to record the event for posterity.

Wrestling

2007-12-20T20:11:00.000-06:00

Alex has added another sport to his growing repertoire by joining the Parkside wrestling team. Here he is in his first match of the first meet, which he won handily.

He wasn't as fortunate in his next two matches, but there's a whole season in front of him.

More Jazz

2007-12-20T18:04:00.000-06:00

Alex and the Parkside Jazz band performing their Christmas concert. These guys just keep getting better, and better.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

2007-12-07T21:25:00.000-06:00

No better way than with the Trans Siberian Orchestra, these guys Rock!

Jazz Concert

2007-11-18T19:11:00.000-06:00

Here are a few shots taken at Alex's first Jazz Band concert. He is one of two 6th graders who were offered positions in the band, the rest are 7th and 8th graders. They sounded great, we found ourselves dancing in the atrium.

Transformation a la Nick

2007-11-14T18:47:00.000-06:00

After seeing how much easier life has been for his older brother, Nick decided he too would take the plunge into wearing shorter hair. Here he is only moments prior to the complicated removal procedure.

One last look with everything intact.

Here we are, at the halfway point.

Ah yes, there's a kid I haven't seen in years.

Good to have you back home, son.

Grandpa and Grandma Rollin' Thru

2007-11-10T16:17:00.000-06:00

Grandpa and Grandma rolled through last weekend on their way back to Iowa. We hadn't seen them since earlier this summer, and were glad to find them in good spirits and good health.

Transformation a la Alex

2007-11-04T18:30:00.000-06:00

Alex has set his sights on the Parkside Wrestling Team which is open for tryouts later this week. After researching the requirements, he discovered his hair was too long. So today, he decided to grant access to his golden locks.

Here is the official before picture. I really didn't expect this big of a smile.

One final view of that hair, bangs and all.

We're halfway there, definitely light at the end of this tunnel.

Introducing, for the first time in years...Clean Cut Alex!

Welcome home, Son.

Halloween Fun

2007-11-03T18:04:00.000-05:00

This year, Alex and Nick chose costumes that were much scarier than in previous years. Alex dressed up as an orc sword carrying crazed lunatic, while Nick chose to be a troll masked grim reaper. Definitely not your standard fare. They were joined by Danny (hockey player), Brian (Wrestler) and Sam (Dracula).

I dressed up this year also, well...not entirely.

I had a little accident while carving pumpkins. I've never been real handy with a knife, and on the night before Halloween I was attempting to slice open one of our gourds when my steak knife slipped...

Five stitches later...I became...

FRANKENTHUMB!

Here's another angle.

There wasn't much pain, just a lot of blood. I saw it as a good lesson for the kids, and for Dad too!

The kids ended up collecting more candy than they'll ever eat, just like last year, and the year before. And, as I did in those previous years, I'll step up as the father they can lean on...

...in these times of crisis.

Open House

2007-11-03T16:32:00.000-05:00

We went to an open house at Nick's school recently to find out what he's been spending his time on. We discovered that he's been reading about the Age of Exploration (Vikings, Christopher Columbus, Cortez, Pizzaro, etc.), the vastness and beauty of Space, the fundamentals of Language, and faster techniques in Math. We also discovered a teacher who loves to teach, and whom Nick adores (Mrs. Shackley).

It's comforting to know that Nick is in such good and capable hands.

Let There be Rock

2007-10-28T22:36:00.000-05:00

I saw these guys in 1977 when they opened for Cheap Trick in Sioux Falls, SD. It was a night I'll never forget, definitely the best live show I've ever seen.

Copperhead Road

2007-10-19T18:30:00.000-05:00

Love this song. Got to be one of the greatest songs EVER!

Autograph Signing

2007-10-18T21:05:00.000-05:00

Howie Long and Anthony Munoz stopped by work this week to sign autographs. It was neat to see these guys in real life, television doesn't always project a person's size accurately. I avoided the long line for autographs, choosing instead to capture the event with pictures.

Cross Country - State Finals

2007-10-14T13:02:00.000-05:00

1st place went to the Parkside boys, the girls took 7th. As expected, Carly Pederson of Chiddix (pictured above) broke the State Record by 11 seconds, capturing the Girls state title for the second consecutive year.

Michele and I worked at the event as computer chip collectors. We had lots of fun, our booth was right at the finish line so we had the best seats in the house. Alex worked concessions with a few of his friends, Nick (still fighting pneumonia after two weeks) stayed at his cousins house. It was a great event to cap off the season, we're already looking forward to next year.

Joybubbles

2007-10-02T21:49:00.000-05:00

In the mid 1990's I worked for Citibank as a Customer Service Representative. It wasn't exactly what I had gone to College for, but it paid the bills (well, most of them). Anyway, I worked the overnight shift answering phones, mostly from confused card holders, and sometimes even angry card holders (more than sometimes actually but that's material for another post another time). These card holders came from all walks of life, and occassionally, even famous ones.

Some well known personalities I had the pleasure to speak with over the years were Riddick Bowe, Catherine Bach, Christopher Cross, James Spader, and Tom Petty's first wife Jane Benyo (yes, she's not the famous one, but she's fewer degrees away from Tom than Kevin Bacon). Anyhow, these folks were all quite pleasant to speak with, but none of them left the lasting impression as a lesser known famous person with a very unusual name. He was born Joe Engressia, but had legally changed his name to Joybubbles.

I became familiar with Joybubbles through his repeated calls to customer service to correct an on-going problem with his credit card. The problem was with the way Citibank had listed his name on the card. Instead of JOYBUBBLES, it read as JOY BUBBLES. That's right, there was a space in the middle of the name. You see, our system wasn't designed to handle names that didn't contain both a first and last name. If either were missing, the card creation process would simply error. To make the card then, someone had to manually intervene by splitting his name into two distinct components. I recall someone telling me that this problem had been resolved for Cher by entering a period for her last name (which would have showed up on her card as CHER .).

Well, when Joybubbles first began calling about this issue, he spoke to a representative named Susan, who happened to be a smoker. Us smokers would huddle outside in the cruel South Dakota winter air swapping stories about the unusual calls we had taken since the last break, and believe me, we never experienced a shortage of fresh material. During one of these "smokefests", Susan told us she had spoken to a person named Joybubbles. Having never heard a more unusual name (ignoring Moon Unit and Dweezil of course), I was intrigued. Susan told us that Joybubbles was an extremely polite person, but as a matter of principle, wanted his card corrected, since his name was not "Joy Bubbles", and a period at the end was not satisfactory since his name was not "Joybubbles .".

As Susan worked with him to correct his problem, she became Joybubbles' favorite representative. Whenever he called in, he would insist on dealing only with her. I had the pleasure of transferring him to her on a couple of occassions, and in the short conversations I had with him, he seemed like a very pleasant individual.

To this day I don't know if Susan was able to get that space between his name removed, or if she had to resort to the Cher period. I am glad this was an issue though, or I may never have heard of a man named Joybubbles. His name popped into my head a few days ago, and after doing a google search I was surprised to learn that Joybubbles was a famous person, and sadly had only recently passed away. I wish I had a better tribute to his life than to say I heard his voice on the phone a few times, but unfortunately that's all I knew of him until I read about his life. Here's to you Joybubbles, I hope you've found your neverland.

Update: Here is a short video on youtube that shows a young joybubbles in action during his phone phreaking days.

Cross Country - Meet #10

2007-09-30T18:12:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we watched Parkside run through the cornfields of Delavan for the final regular meet of the season, Sectionals start next week followed by the State Meet the week after. Parkside did very well against the other 33 teams competing by placing first for the boys, and second for the girls. Alex set his own Personal Record (PR) with a time of 14:26, beating his prior PR of 15:22 by nearly a minute!

Congratulations Parkside, it's been a great season.

I've uploaded some great photos that can be viewed here. Enjoy!

Return of the 33rd

2007-09-28T09:07:00.000-05:00

The National Guard's 33rd MP Battalion returned from Iraq yesterday to a hero's welcome in Bloomington. All 70 of those deployed returned home safely after spending a year in Iraq. Alex and I were among the bystanders on Veteran's Parkway when I photographed their departure back in June of 2006. I don't know any of these soldiers, but I felt a warmth in my heart as I watched the smiles on their faces, and the faces of their loved ones. It was an event I'll never forget.

Welcome home.

I took a bunch of photos, the best of which can be viewed here. If anyone from the 33rd happens to stumble across this post and would like a digital copy of any one of my photos, email a note to webmaster@syslfrog.com and I'll gladly email it/them to you.

Cross Country - Meet #9

2007-09-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

On September 24th there was a small inner city meet held at Parkside. Our team did very well and as usual, I was taking pictures, the best of which can be viewed here.

What made this event unique was the addition of a race by future Cross Country runners. The coaches at Parkside extended an invitation to Elementary school aged children to come out and run as an extension of their PE class. Nick and his buddy Brian both ran, and finished in the top half of a large group of kids. This accomplishment will get them a free pass from having to participate in the next "fitness day".

Distance 2.1 miles Alex's time 15:48
Distance 1.5 miles Nick's time 13:19

Cross Country - Meet #8

2007-09-27T21:40:00.000-05:00

September 21st found us just North of Peoria at the Dunlap Invitational. We again witnessed another dominating performance by the Parkside team with the boys taking first and the girls capturing second. I posted some great photos of the event here. Enjoy!

Distance 2.1 miles Alex's time 15:46

Cross Country - Meet #7

2007-09-27T21:30:00.000-05:00

September 15th found us up near Chicago at the Troy invitational. This was a huge meet, with over 50 teams competing. Parkside continued their season of domination by taking home the first place trophy, a first for Parkside.

I captured some terrific photos at this event which can be viewed here.

Distance 1 mile Alex's time 7:14

Alex will be 12...

2007-09-15T21:41:00.000-05:00

Create yours at BlingyBlob.com!

... and smiley will be 25!

Cross Country - Meet #6

2007-09-09T09:09:00.001-05:00

Saturday, September 8th was the big Parkside Invitational, our biggest meet so far. With 44 schools represented, Parkside did very well, here is the blurb from the website:

" The boys team scored 17 points to win the meet. The girls team tied Chatham for 1st place, but lost on the 6th runner tie-breaker (39th to 40th place). Logan Abeling won the race in a time of 11:02. Carly Pederson from Chiddix set a new invitational record time of 11:33. Brooke Gordon finished 2nd in a personal record time of 12:09. The boys team placed all seven runners in the top 10 and under 11:31."

Some of the Pythons parade their mascot around the field.

Alex and some fellow athletes watch as the girls varsity prepare to race.

Leading the girl's varsity are Carly Pederson from Chiddix, and Brooke Gordon from Parkside. They held these positions throughout the race, all the way to the finish line.

Parkside volunteers assist one of the runners.

This girl collapsed right after crossing the finish line.
Michele takes a break and heads for the concession stand.
Alex and Nick take in the sights with some other athletes from Parkside.
The boys varsity at the starting line.
Leading the boys varsity was Logan Abeling and Logan DeGroot, seen here neck and neck. Logan Abeling edged out Logan DeGroot in the last 20 feet to finish first.
Dneesha Hamiel from A.M. Jackson Math Science Academy finishes first in the girl's open.
Taking second in the girl's open was Brittany Peterburs from Chatham Glenwood.
These next three shots show a girl perfectly content with walking, while her Mother tries desparately to get her to run.

Here is the official discharging his gun at the start of the boys open. This was the race that Alex was in, so I made sure to get a good spot at the finish line.
Here are the 3 leaders, all from Parkside.
Justin deDianous finished in the top ten.
I thought Justin was going to lose his position near the finish since this guy behind him looked awfully determined, but he held on.
Evan Goodyear finished strong, garnering his second invitational medal.
Reed Henry finishing strong.
J.T. Goodman has a strong performance.
This was my first view of Alex as he made his way down the home stretch.
Alex flies by in passing mode, making a strong finish.

This was a great event, the Cross Country Team did all of us parents proud.

Distance 2.02 miles, Alex's time 15:44

How Logical Are You?

2007-09-08T21:11:00.000-05:00

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic
You think rationally, clearly, and quickly.
A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

Cross Country - Meet #5

2007-09-08T16:07:00.000-05:00

There was a small inter-city meet on September 4th, with Parkside serving as host. Our runners again did very well, here's the summary from the Parkside website:

"GIRLS SCORE: PJHS 31, CJHS 33, KJHS 74 & BJHS 110; BOYS SCORE: PJHS 16, KJHS 69, CJHS 72 & BJHS 97,. Logan Degroot won the boys race and was followed by Eric Gordon, Logan Abeling, Caleb Wiebenga, Peyton Scheuermann, Taylor Hallatt and River Gordon. The girls race had the follwing girls run in the top seven: Brooke Gordon, Brie Hines, Bailey Kerschieter, Lexi Modglin, Hannah Magnuson, Michaella Fowler and Kelsey Kinley."

The girls were led by Chiddix's Carly Pederson.

Our own Brooke Gordon finished second.

Parkside parents, Paul, Michele and Susan chat between races.

The boys race kicks off with Alex near the middle.

Nick poses with his cousins, Anna and Jessica.

The 4 leaders, all from Parkside are: Logan Degroot, Eric Gordon, Logan Abeling and Caleb Wiebenga.

Evan Goodyear follows closely behind two competitors.

Reed Henry working his way through the pack.

Alex making his way towards the final stretch.

Distance 2.02 miles, Alex's time 16:20.

This race was a practice run for the big Parkside Invitational that took place this morning. There were 44 teams, so the competition was pretty fierce. I took alot of photos as usual, so, when I get some time, I'll post the best of them.

An Ad With Impact

2007-09-06T20:48:00.000-05:00

AirSoft

2007-09-05T22:03:00.000-05:00

A game that is becoming popular with Alex and his friends is Airsoft. Last weekend he and a few members of the Cross Country Team got together to do battle. It was Alex's first time out, and he loved it.

He came home with both eyes, so I guess we're ok with him doing it again.

Fox News

2007-09-05T21:14:00.000-05:00

Cross Country - Meet #4

2007-09-03T10:57:00.000-05:00

September 1st found us in East Peoria for the second Cross Country Invitational this season. As summarized on the Parkside website, Parkside continued its pattern of dominance:

"For the first time in program history the boy's team scored a perfect 15 points in an invitational. We also placed seven runners in the top eight of the race. Logan A., Logan D., Peyton, Caleb, Eric, Taylor and River had an impressive 22 second split for their pack. The girl's team finished in second place (two points out of 1st) and was led by 2nd place finisher Brooke who ran the all-time course record for a PJHS girl. Rounding out the top seven were Hannah, Bailey, Amy, Michaella, Lexi and Kelsey. Alex A. and Brie won the open races. Winning open medals were Baylor, Tyler, Blake, Brandon, Justin, Pete, Tyler, Mike, Mason, Evan, J.D., Megan, Bekka, Rachel, Emily and Tyraina. Running PR's were Reece, Steven, Reid, Jonathon, Riley, Mitch, J.T., Alex H., Kyle, Kelli, Heather, Demi, Shayna, Kayla, Taylor, Ellie, Emily and Allie."

Michele sets her watch as the runners line up.

Chiddix's Carly Pederson breaks the course record by 42 seconds with a time of 11:40 to place first in the girl's varsity race.

Here's another angle of Carly finishing, and if you look close off to the left, there's a funny looking guy taking pictures by the finish line. Hey wait a minute, that's me!

Parkside's Brooke places second in girl's varsity race.

Boys varsity off the start.

Logan Abeling takes first for Parkside.

Second went to Logan D.

Peyton, Caleb and Eric finish out the top five giving Parkside a perfect score of 15.

Michele looks on alongside John and Susan Goodman.

Brie Hines finishes strong in the open race.

A few more shots from the girls open, you can see the determination in many of these girls faces.

The boys open race starts with Alex near the middle.

Alex working around the outside of a large group.

Justin climbs the big hill.

Tyler and Evan as they reach the top of the big climb.

Reed approaches the top.

Alex right behind J.T.

Alex heading down the final stretch.

Alex beams right after sharing the news with me that he had beat his prior personal record by 1 full minute.

The award ceremony.

Parkside athletes cheer as they are announced the winners of the meet.

Distance 2.08 miles, Alex's time 15:22

Sweet Corn Blues Festival

2007-09-03T09:55:00.000-05:00

On Sunday August 26th, we went to the Sweet Corn Blues Festival in Downtown Normal. We try to make it every year because we love the carnival food, and we especially love the sweet corn. The kids like to make their annual stop at ACME Comics to see what kind of deals are being offered in their sidewalk display. This year they brought home some hideous looking tentacled creatures, but hey, they were cheap.

There seemed to be a pretty good crowd this year, the walk through the street was elbow to elbow.

The corn is boiled in hot water that is heated by this old tractor engine. It's fun to watch the workers as they pull out these huge containers of corn so that they can be buttered and served.

Alex flashing his million dollar smile on the streets of Normal.

The place was packed, everybody was there, including Elvis!

With our bellies full of corn, it was time to grab something cool, cross the tracks, and head home.

Another fun day at the Cornfest. Looking forward to next year.

Cross Country - Meet #3

2007-08-31T14:13:00.000-05:00

Our 3rd meet took place in Champaign on August 25th, where we competed against 29 schools. As with the prior 2 meets this year, Parkside dominated. Here is the writeup posted on the Parkside website:

The team had its most dominant performance in program history earning 28 out of 60 available medals. Logan Abeling and Brooke Gordon won the individual title in both varsity races. Alex Anderson won the open boys race and Kelsey Kinley was runner-up in the open girls race.

Here are the medal winners from Parkside for this event.

It was exciting to watch as over 500 athletes competed in 5 different running events. I took a lot of pictures and I would love to post them all, but I'm not sure the internet is big enough to absorb them, so I've condensed them down to a few dozen of the best. Enjoy!

The fastest time for the girls came from a Chiddix student.

The fastest time for the boys came from a Parkside student.

Alex shares a laugh with a couple of his teammates.

Distance: 2.08 miles, Alex's time 16:19

Cross Country - Meet #2

2007-08-22T20:28:00.000-05:00

August 20th was the the second Cross Country Meet of the season which took place at Parkside against Chatham and Morton. Once again Parkside was victorious.

The girls start off strong.

Brook Gordon comes in first for the girls.

The boys warm up before the race.

And they're off!

Parkside holds top seven positions.

Caleb comes in first for the boys.

That's J.T.

Alex finishes strong.

Here is the information posted on the Parkside website:

The first home meet saw many impressive performances. Brooke ran the 8th fastest time on the PJHS course and Caleb the 12th fastest time as both won their races. Logan D. and Taylor both made the all-time PJHS course records list. Eric, Logan A., Peyton and River rounded out the top seven. Running in the top seven for the girls were Michaella, Bailey, Hannah, Amy, Brie and Lexie. Alex, Tyler, Mike and Becca ran PR's. The boys score was PJHS 15 Chatham 51 & Morton 78 and the girls score was PJHS 29 Chatham 41 & Morton 81

Total distance: 2.02 miles, Alex's Time: 16:20

Field Museum

2007-08-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

After a full day of hot sun and cool rides at Six Flags on Friday, we decided to spend Saturday at the Field Museum in Chicago. The day was just the opposite of the day before, with cool temps and rain.

The Field Museum is absolutely huge, and is situated right across from Soldier Field. This photo is of just the front entrance, leaving much of the size to the readers imagination. To give you an idea of just how incredibly big this place is, we were there for about 7 hours, and still did not see the entire museum.

This is the great hall just inside the entrance. Off in the distance on the other side are a couple of elephants, and Sue, the famous Tyrannosaurus Rex.

This is Sue from up close and personal. Isn't she a beauty? By clicking here you can read about the fantastic journey Sue took to get from her 65 million year resting place, to where she is perched today.

One of the first exhibits we viewed was the Charles Darwin exhibit. The exhibit takes the viewer on a journey through Darwin's life, starting with his love of zoology, his historic 5 year journey on the HMS Beagle, and of his Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

The exhibit also addressed the controversy that has persisted since this theory was first proposed. My own personal experience has been that those who refuse to accept Evolution, typically lack an understanding of what Evolution is, and are typically unaware of the evidence that backs it up. There are innumerable resources for those that are skeptical, like here or here or here or here or here or here or here or here, just to mention a few.

All in all, it was a fascinating journey, one that I highly recommend to anyone curious about the origins and diversity of life, and especially to those who remain skeptical.

An exciting highlight was coming across this exhibit of Lucy, a hominid that lived approximately 3.2 million years ago, unearthed in 1970 by a research group in Ethiopia. Having read about her years ago, I was fascinated with the opportunity to meet her in person (even if this one was only a replica), the real Lucy will be embarking on a controversial US Tour very soon.

Alex and Nick reacting to a giant spider in the Underground Adventure exhibit.

A whale skeleton, very cool, and very big.

Hmm, now I think I know what the ALF character from the TV series was modeled after.

The rest of the exhibits we looked at were of dinosaurs, and more dinosaurs. It just doesn't get any better than dinosaurs.

A great time was had by all, we hope to get back again soon.

Six Flags

2007-08-19T22:04:00.000-05:00

Last Friday we we spent the day at Six Flags in St. Louis. It was very hot, but not at all crowded. We had a great time watching the kids have a great time. I took a lot of pictures as usual, here is but a small taste of what we experienced. The kids prepare to shoot monsters on the Scooby Doo ride.

Captain, I think we're taking on water!

Aye, she's still sea worthy.

John shows the girls how it's done.

We survived!

Big John and John Jr make a big splash.

Michele and Krissy looking for shade.

A spinning roller coaster.

Wheeeeee!

John and Michele taking a spin.

The kids begin their tidal wave trek.

Full speed ahead!

Splash!

Here's the tidal wave in action

Michele and Nick ride the Joker.

A bit of relaxing between rides.

John waves from Batman.

Alex and John looping on Batman.

And yet another loop.

Diving into the final stretch.

Jason and Nick in the lap of a furry something or other.

Michele on the Collosus.

Nick and Jason on another break.

Alex was the only one brave enough to ride the Xcalibur.

A final break before heading home.

Nick and Jason show off their winnings from the arcade games.

Cross Country - Meet #1

2007-08-19T19:55:00.000-05:00

Alex had his first Cross Country Meet last Thursday in East Peoria. His team did very well, coming out on top over three other schools (Chiddix, East Peoria, and Canton). Here are a few of the pictures I took at the event.

Here is the info posted on Parksides website:

The teams opened the season on August 16th in impressive fashion. The girls placed five runners in the top seven and the boys swept the top five spots. Leading the way for the girls were Brooke, Michaella, Hannah, Bailey, Amy, Brie and Kelsey. The boys top seven were Logan A., Caleb, Peyton, Logan D., River (PR), Eric and Taylor. Impressive performances were had by Alex A., Tyler B., Mike (PR), Justin, Tyler, Kelli, Evan, J.D., Brandon, Lexi, Bekka, Tyraina and Baylor. The girls score was PJHS 23 Chiddix 54 East Peoria 62 and Canton 92 and the boys score was PJHS 15 East Peoria 64 Chiddix 68 and Canton 88.

Distance 2.08 miles, Alex's time 16:30

Cross Country - Practice

2007-08-19T19:40:00.000-05:00

Alex has been training all summer to prepare for participation on the Cross Country team at his new school. Here are a few shots of a practice session from last week.

Distance 1.55 miles, Alex's time 12:33

It's a Long Way... But They Made It Anyway

2007-08-19T13:19:00.000-05:00

I love this song, especially the bagpipes blasting away with the screaming guitars. It just doesn't get any better than this.

Brian May PHD

2007-08-13T20:47:00.000-05:00

Brian May, legendary guitarist of the rock group Queen, has turned in his 48,000 word Doctoral thesis in Astronomy after a 36 year hiatus. He will be discussing it with the examining board of the Imperial College, London, on August 23rd, where he studied before joining the rock band. Here's wishing him the best of luck, and with that a tribute to one of the greatest Rock and Roll bands to ever grace the planet.

The Many Faces of Skyler

2007-08-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

I could have referred to this post as The Many Faces of Skyler and Michael, but Skyler clearly steals the show.

These shots were taken while Skyler was peering through our cat door.

Michael requested some Father Daughter shots, so we took these out on the back deck.

Sibling Reunion

2007-08-12T16:42:00.000-05:00

Last weekend marked the first of an annual reunion for Michele and her siblings. I'll make a couple of posts with photos from that visit.

Here's the gang all together. It was close to a 100 degrees during this shot, so I had to shoot the photo fast, as there was a cold swimming pool beckoning.

One of the many activities we participated in was a game called Disc Golf. We hadn't played it before, and weren't really aware of it's existence, but man were we greatful for the exposure. All those years I spent throwing a frisbee could now finally be put to use.

Balloon Over Bloomington

2007-07-30T21:51:00.000-05:00

I spotted this hot air balloon on the way to work last week, and being the type that will photograph just about anything, decided to chase it down.

I watched as it approached College Avenue from the South, and then proceeded North almost directly above Towanda avenue.

They were getting pretty low, I was even thinking that they might be looking to land, but then they fired up the burner and drifted off.

Final Softball Game

2007-07-29T22:12:00.000-05:00

This picture not only sums up why I don't wear shorts all that often, but also symbolizes the outcome of our final game of the season.

Summer Vacation - Mike and Marilyn's Part III

2007-07-29T21:25:00.000-05:00

Mike and Marilyn have a bunch of cats living on the farm with them. They're all quite friendly, both Alex and Nick love to track them down and pet them.

Here's Fuzzer.

Here's Black Black.

Here's Nick with White Stuff.

Here's Sophie.

More White Stuff.

More Sophie.

Sophie again.

White Stuff again.

Here's Long Legs.

And White Stuff one last time.

Summer Vacation - Mike and Marilyn's Part II

2007-07-24T21:40:00.000-05:00

During our visit, we drove over to a a small town called Pomeroy to tour the Kaleidoscope Factory. We met the owner, Leonard Olson, who let us watch him make two kaleidoscopes, one for Nick and one for Alex from a block of wood to a finished kaleidoscope. It was an amazing experience.

Summer Vacation - Mike and Marilyn's Part I

2007-07-24T21:36:00.000-05:00

Our final destination for our trip was the farm of Mike and Marilyn. Their farm is like a home away from home for us. We enjoy the wide open spaces, the clean air, the generous hospitality, and the company of great people. Here's a previous blog entry from when the kids were much younger. My how they've grown.

Michele and the boys with Monty and Lydia.

Mike carrying Joseph as he and Marilyn and Lydia emerge from the house.

The crew looks on while Mike plays with Joseph.

Marilyn leads the family on a tour of the farm.

Mike checks the sweet corn to see if it's ready, and it is.

Mike walks the ditch looking for noxious weeds.

Michele and Marilyn share a moment with Fuzzer and Black Black.

Mike doesn't have the gator anymore, now the guys cruise in the rhino.

Alex gets out of the way so Mike can move the tractor.

Michele reluctantly provides me with a photo op. I tried to get her to do the karate kid stance for an interesting effect, but she just wasn't in the mood to look that silly.

Summer Vacation - Spirit Lake Part III

2007-07-24T04:27:00.000-05:00

I love storms, and I love to capture them as they develop. While sitting on the shores of Big Spirit, I noticed the clouds were looking rather peculiar off to the North. About every 5 minutes or so I shot a picture in that direction so that later, I could look at the progression of the formation. This particular set of clouds did not disappoint me as it developed into a storm with 40 to 50 mile an hour wind gusts as it passed over us. In fact, we read the next day that corn fields had been flattened by the high winds produced from this storm, which apparently increased to 85 MPH winds.

These are the clouds right as we are starting to feel the wind gusts, I was almost certain we would see a tornado, but, we never did.

Summer Vacation - Spirit Lake Part II

2007-07-24T04:22:00.000-05:00

The kids have swam Big Spirit many times, but this was their first time venturing out to the platform. It was fun watching them leaping off into the clear blue waters. It was also entertaining to watch some of the other platform jumpers.

A family of ducks insisted on being a part of the swimming festivities. Each time they swam in, younger kids would chase them out. But they kept on returning anyway, they didn't seem to be bothered by the fuss they caused.

Michele, Grandpa Bob and Grandma Jean chatting on the beach.

Summer Vacation - Spirit Lake Part I

2007-07-22T22:13:00.000-05:00

After departing Sioux Falls, we stopped in Spirit Lake, IA to visit Grandparents. Here are Michele and Alex as they greet Zu Zu.

Michele and Alex enter the cool waters of Big Spirit.

Grandpa Bob floats out into the deep water.

Alex and Nick along the shore with the platform in the distance.

Cooled off, and ready for the sun.

Uh oh, looks like a sand throwing penalty.

Revenge is sweet.

Refreshing!

You sand my back ...

... and I'll sand yours.

Summer Vacation - Downtown Sioux Falls

2007-07-22T14:58:00.000-05:00

Downtown Sioux Falls is a rich environment for buildings made of Sioux Quartzite. For information about Sioux Quartzite, follow this link here, and this one here.

Washington Pavillion.

Old Courthouse Museum.

Saint Joseph Cathedral.

Not everything I photographed is related to Sioux Quartzite, for instance, this is the Statue of David in Downtown Sioux Falls, and is one of only a few actual size replicas of the original. The statue did not come to the city without controversy .

The Minnehaha County Courthouse.

We checked the time on this sundial, and it was right on the money.

Summer Vacation - At The Movies

2007-07-22T13:34:00.000-05:00

We decided to take in a movie while we were in Sioux Falls, I'll give you just one guess to see if you can figure out which one it was.

If you guessed The Simpsons Movie, you were wrong. We went to Harry Potter, Order of the Phoenix.

Summer Vacation - Must Stop Places

2007-07-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

Whenever we visit Sioux Falls, we have a list of places we have to stop at. Most of those are restaurants, and a few of those are pictured here. This is by no means an all inclusive compilation.

On this day we drove over to Mr Goodcents, which serves up some very good sub sandwiches. Here is Grandma Rita and Josh as they disembark from that boxy looking, red, four wheeled, motorized, vehicle.

Here is the hungry crew waiting impatiently for me to take the picture because they are convinced they look ridiculous posing in front of Mr Goodcents (which they do, but don't tell them I said so).

Grampa and Grandma's house, notice the stork over the right side of the house.

Probably my favorite stop, The Keg. They serve the best fried chicken I've ever had. This place usually qualifies for two or more stops while we're in town, no kidding, it's that good.

Summer Vacation - Hot Harley Nights Part IV

2007-07-22T09:43:00.000-05:00

These pictures took place towards the end of the night, and if you look closely you'll notice the smiles are getting much bigger.

Here's Tim Hawkins, whom we bumped into on our way back to our car.

Overall, this was a great year for Hot Harley Nights. Good crowd, good people, and a good band. We've already got it on the calendar for next year.

Summer Vacation - Hot Harley Nights Part III

2007-07-22T09:28:00.000-05:00

This year we ran into a few faces we hadn't seen in many years. Here's Brian Baker, whom I had not seen since the early 90's.

That's my cousin Tonya with her husband Darren.

John and Lu sharing a laugh.

That's Mike, putting down a cold one.

Summer Vacation - Hot Harley Nights Part II

2007-07-22T01:26:00.000-05:00

Michele chatting with Michele and Joan.

Mike and Lu checking out some bikes.

This bike was being raffled.

Michele and Gary enjoy some beverages while the band Jukebox Zeroes plays some great tunes in the background. We heard these guys play last year, and I have to say, they sounded just as awesome again this year.

Summer Vacation - Hot Harley Nights Part I

2007-07-22T00:38:00.000-05:00

For the third consecutive year we attended Hot Harley Nights in downtown Sioux Falls. This years bash was every bit as good as the previous years, which means we'll probably be back next year. I took a ton of photos this year, so I'll break them up over a few separate posts.

This is a shot looking South on Phillips Avenue as the bikes approach the end of the parade route.

Shane and Michele standing among some of the bikes lining the streets downtown.

Looking back to the North at a never ending river of bikes.

One very talented gorilla.

A Fine Fine Day

2007-07-21T17:32:00.000-05:00

This song is a classic.

Summer Vacation - Camping VIII

2007-07-21T16:41:00.000-05:00

Here are a bunch of photos of the friendly faces seen around camp.

Summer Vacation - Camping VII

2007-07-21T15:45:00.000-05:00

It was like herding cats, but I did manage to get almost everybody into one photo.

Summer Vacation - Camping VI

2007-07-21T13:43:00.000-05:00

We went to a campout, and a football game broke out.