Aug
23
Kids sure are smart these days…
Filed Under Family | 2 Comments
My 9-year old is teaching herself to use GIMP, and created this little animated gif for this blog on her desktop.
Can you say proud daddy?
Aug
18
Damn you, Jim Cantore!
Filed Under Storms | Leave a Comment
Here’s a question for you: Which comes first, the hurricane or Jim Cantore?
Hmmm…..
I mean, Cantore gets there before the hurricane…. but the hurricane is already going there… If I was the governor of Florida, I’d stop that bastard at the Florida-Georgia border.
Friggin’ hurricane magnet, if you ask me…
Aug
16
Withlacoochee River Alliance
Filed Under Florida Environment | Leave a Comment
Ok, I’ll admit it: I’m not any great environmentalist. My attitude is mostly apathy, mostly along the lines of ‘once it’s broke, why bother to fix it?’.
Such a fatalist. Sigh.
But you know, the Withlacoochee River isn’t broke; it’s beautiful. I’ve canoed the river in Hernando County many times. Been there when it was deep and cold in the middle of winter and flipped my canoe and gear and had to build a fire along the banks to dry my clothes. Been there when it was so hot and dry that I had to portage in places. Sat beside the banks deep in the woods when life was full of drama and I just needed a time-out to sit and think.
So, I don’t know anything about the Florida Defenders of the Environment or the Withlacoochee River Alliance, I don’t know anything about their methods or fundraising or successes or failures.
But if they’re talking about preserving a river that ain’t broken yet, I’m listening.
Aug
11
Innocence Lost
Filed Under Family | 2 Comments
My 9-year old is scaring me. Not only is she teaching herself to use GIMP and creating 3-D animated movies, she’s starting to check out my blogs.
Which means she could very well find her way to a nearly dormant blog with completely inappropriate content. Today, she saw the license-plate in the sidebar and popped over to imagechef to make a series of images for some of my blogs (some of which I was shocked she was even aware of), including this one.
Simple for her with imagechef, but I feel like my own innocence is lost. Now, I have to watch what I say and where I link because 9-year girls are reading.
I don’t wanna. Uh-uh. Nope.
Aug
10
Yeah, yeah, I know you don’t want to know about Alabama.
Tough. I’m in exile up here, dammit, so until someone figures out how to get me and mine back to good ole F-L-A, you gets what you gets.
So, in no particular order, here are the things we’ve done personally:
U.S. Space and Rocket Center
We have an annual membership, and have used it several times. The kids love the simulators and rock-climbing wall, and even appreciate some of the static exhibits. That surprised me, they are only 6 and 9 years old. Good stuff. Also, this is where kids can attend Space Camp, something the 9-year old is lobbying for next summer.
Cathedral Caverns
So impressive. It’s just amazing to think of what forces of nature it took to create this massive cave system. Great place to go on a hot summer day, because it is a constant 60 degrees F in the cave year-round. We were all fascinated.
Burritt on the Mountain
The kids have been begging to go back to this one. They love the animals. The mansion is impressive, but it is the grounds that my wife and I enjoyed the most. Also, they have replica buildings of farmhouses and slave cabins from the 19th century, so there is a “living history” feel to the place.
Sci-Quest Hands-on Science Center
“Hands-on” is the key, here. Nearly every single exhibit (and it felt like there were a hundred but it was probably only a couple dozen) is a learning experience for the kids (and Dad, too!). Everything from basic lessons in physics to some high-tech cool toys to play with.
Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo
Good lord, the kids loved this place! Plenty of variety, but the most impressive thing was how clean the animals were and how well the proprietors cared for them. Every stall had clean, clear water, every animal had meat on their bones, and almost every animal was tame enough for the kids to pet. They beg to go back. It’s right on the way to Cathedral Caverns, so you can make a nice day of the trip.
Anyone from Alabama feel free to drop a note in comments about other places we ought to check out.
Yes, I’m assuming you can write. See? I’m getting better…
Jul
26
While watching the Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds concert, the show gets to the high-heel race some radio station put on for the Dads to win 4 tickets to the concert, and backstage passes. These guys went all out, raced hard, sacrificing their bodies, just to get a priceless memory for their girls.
My 9-year old yells across the room, “You would so lose THAT!”. To me. The guy that took her to not one, not two, but 3 Father-Daughter Dances.
I didn’t miss a beat.
“You’re right, honey, because I’d have never started the race. I s’pose that means I don’t love you as much as those other Dads love their little girls.”
Jul
21
Long-time readers might remember that last fall I posted about finding lost money with the Florida Bureau of Unclaimed Property. My grandfather passed away a few years ago, and he’d been a long-haul value investor for decades, buying and holding and living off dividend checks, pensions, and social security in his retirement years. But, many of his stock purchases would be small lots - ten shares of this, 20 shares of that.
He was never a rich man, but he lived comfortably and always had a dollar or two for his grandkids when he visited. His final years were spent in nursing homes, which drained the majority of his savings before he died. My father handled his financial affairs for years, and they’d prepared well and had all the usual trusts set up so everything flowed smoothly in life and death.
So, it was with only mild surprise that I reacted to finding his name in the database. I sent the information to my father, wrote a quick blog post, and promptly forgot about it.
My parents came to Huntsville this past weekend for their first visit since our move, and while my father and I were out running errands and eating barbecue, he says, “Ooops, I almost forgot again - I’ve been carrying this around for months meaning to give it to you”, and he opens his wallet and hands me a Benjamin!
Turns out, the unclaimed property was a couple hundred dollars of stock that had been missed back when my father and grandfather set up the original financial arrangements. The hundred was my “finders-fee”. Not life-changing money, but even at my age it feels good to get a little found-money.
Good stuff, good stuff…
More "Unclaimed Property" Posts
- I found old money with the State of Florida Bureau of Unclaimed Property
- Finding lost money: It freakin’ worked!
Jun
14
My wishes
Filed Under Family | 5 Comments
Ok, sorry for this dark post on a Saturday, but my wife is making me put it in writing because she thinks people might not agree if she does what I want. I’m not normally bothered by celebrity deaths, but Tim Russert’s is really hitting me hard for some reason. Making me think of my own mortality. So, here’s what I want everyone to know if I die while you’re still alive. I want 3 things:
1. An Irish wake. No tears, please. It’s not about you, it’s about me. My mother is the only person that ever cried for me while I was alive, so don’t bother crying for when I’m dead.
2. I want to be cremated. I hate the idea of worms and maggots and roaches crawling through my nether regions.
3. I want my ashes spread at Pine Island at sunset, right as Sol touches the horizon. There’s a couple Pine Islands in Florida so to clarify: Hernando County’s Pine Island. Grill a couple burgers and franks while you’re waiting. No practical jokes with the charcoal ashes, please. The wind blows in from the water as the sun goes down, so anyone who goes with Stacey and the girls should stand off to the side or you’ll be carrying a little bit of me with you until your next shower. You don’t want this to happen:
Jun
9
My wife has a great post up today:
Keep the new babies on the porch
Can’t wait to read about Peeper, Tiny, and Chi Chi.
Jun
8
Dr. Jack Mehoff at Hernando High School in Brooksville, FL
Filed Under Brooksville | Leave a Comment
I see this year’s graduates at my Alma Mater are doing their level-best to keep parents on their toes.
Dr. Jack Mehoff on Sex Education
Now, off to watch Varsity Blues. The strip club scene just came on. Hot for teacher, ya know.
