Milestones

Anyone who watches SportsCenter knows that baseball players (and teams) have reached numerous milestones this season. The milestones have been from Craig Biggio's 3,000 hits to the Big Hurt's 500th homer to the Phillies' 10,000 loss to Barry closing in on 755 just to name a few.

But today I hit 100 posts. So the following links are all about me and my favorite things.

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My fastest time was .14 seconds at this website that shows you how fast a 90 mile per hour pitch reaches the plate. By the way, I hit a single the second time and homered on the fourth pitch I saw.

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I was recently telling Craig about one of my favorite columns, called Uni Watch, featured on Page 2. Last month Uni Watch wrote about baseball minor league teams and the crazy promotions. It mentions the Fresno Grizzlies and their awesome Price is Right promotion. This new Uni Watch article has even crazier promotions (this Jimmy Buffett one should please my Uncle Larry). But the promotion that really caught my eye was Redneck Night put on by the Kansas City T-Bones. If you look close enough you can see most of my family in attendance.

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Dana attempted to make himself into a Simpsons character earlier in the month but a newer website has appeared that makes it much easier. Someone even used it to make animated Lost characters.

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The Sports Guy has a great article on the latest gambling scandal going on in the NBA. Phoenix Suns fans beware.

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An academic look at the history, humor, and language of farts.

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I don't know how or why we didn't make a strike zone for our wiffleball games while we were in college but I have gone ahead and made one for myself. I used pvc pipe and a piece of sheet metal, which makes a nice sound when you throw a strike. I included a photo of myself to give you a nice perspective. Obviously, my work is much better than anything this guy could make.

No Astricks Necessary

Any article that proves Barry Bonds is not the single season home run leader and soon to be career leader is all right in my book.

Stop the Junk Mail

This morning on the radio I heard a caller talk about a website that stops junk mail, such as preapproved credit cards, coming to your house. I was a little skeptical but curious. The first thing I did was Google it and found this website of the Federal Trade Commission. Sure enough towards the middle of the screen there was a link to www.optoutprescreen.com.

The reason I was originally skeptical is because it was a .com website, not a .gov like the National Do Not Call Registry, and because it asks for your social security number. However, the site is legit and I signed myself up for the permanent opt out choice.

Also, the radio caller was a mortgage broker and claimed he has been using it for his clients for a while now and that it also raises your credit score 20 to 25 points. I don't know if that is correct or not, but the benefit of not receiving any more junk mail is priceless.

Poor Baby

It's not easy posting when you have a teething, feverish baby sitting on your lap. However, I will try to string together some thoughts, links, and pictures.

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You might think the title of this post is about Dillon but really it is about Barry Bonds pulling an 0 for 12 against the Dodgers this past weekend. James and I went to the final game of the series yesterday.

I think I brought up the fact that the Dodgers were in first place and the Giants were in last one too many times.

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Happy Gilmore was the most watched movie in our dorm room during my four years of college. (A distant second was Office Space.) I was very delighted when my old roomie found this. Anyone reading can feel free to purchase one for me.

I can add it to my collection of shirts bought online.


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Speaking of Dana, his better half, Julie, has started her own blog.

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Christina took some cute pictures of Dillon the other day. I couldn't decide which one I liked better so I will just show you both of them.


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Finally, here is one guy's take on the new Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer. If you don't know what Metal Gear Solid is then don't even bother with the video.

Dada

It is very satisfying as a parent to hear your son walking around the house saying, "Dada." Not satisfying: having your son point to the monkey in his picture book and say "Dada" or the same son pointing to one of Otis' poop in the yard and saying "Dada."

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Dillon's new trick is to climb up on the couch. He thinks he is a big boy when he does this. However, this new trick scares Christina and I when we are across the room from him and he starts walking toward the edge of the couch. He doesn't get to show off this trick very often.


Oh yeah, he can also climb to the top of the couch if left alone.

I (Heart) Robot

One of the blogs I read, Pop Candy, has a couple of random robot posts today that I thought I would pass along. Ok, maybe they aren't random because of the Transformers movie, but these videos are great nonetheless.

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This video may have started the robot theme earlier in the week. A must view if you love either The Office or Mr. Roboto.

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A great music video featuring a robot.

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This video was on the pilot episode of Flight of the Conchords, which is very Napoleon Dynamite if you haven't seen it yet. "Binary solo."

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I thought it was time to show you a real robot. It may not be quite as impressive as the robot chair, but it still has mad skillz.

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Finally, I can't think about robots (or old people) without recalling this classic SNL commercial.

Quick Links, Lunchtime Edition

I' ve got a couple a minutes during my lunchbreak so I thought I would pass along a few fun links.

Ever wonder how fast food ads compare to the actual food? Click here to see the ugly results.

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Video mashups are one of my favorite things about the internet. This one combines Anchorman with 300.

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A new race is being introduced at our local county fair. No word yet on if being pushed by a grandparent or great uncle will lead to disqualification.

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If you aren't watching 30 Rock yet then shame on you. Here are the Top 10 moments of the show so far. By the way, I disagree with the #1 spot. Yes, it was funny but not the best moment and the clip shown really does not do the humor of the situation justice.

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Finally, here is a site that links to a few Youtube chronologically correct versions of the plane crash from Lost.

Dillon's Big Weekend, Part 2

The weather was nice enough to enjoy most of the party outside.

Nice apron, Giants fan.

Dillon ready to dig into his birthday cakes.

Grandma Sharon making one of the cakes. Aunt Jennifer iced the other cake.

Nothing gets my family together more than food.

"Finally they let me eat my cake."

Grandpa Mike helping Dillon with one of his many gifts.

I have to post pictures like this when I make Laker's playoffs bets.

Dillon's Big Weekend, Part 1

Here are some pictures of last weekend. Tomorrow I will post some of his party.
Dillon's first present of the weekend was this tractor from Uncle Larry. You can't tell from the picture but the tractor has pedals on it. Unfortunately, Dillon is too little to reach them so someone had to push Dillon up and down the driveway. Fortunately, Uncle Larry, Pops, and Papa were more than willing to push him.

Pops and Uncle Larry finally got tired of pushing Dillon on his tractor so they put him in the back of the truck, which he still thoroughly enjoyed.

"Look, Mom! I got to stand on the truck tires with my bare feet!"

Kaleb, Taylor, and Dillon. I guarantee this picture puts a smile on Grandma Sharon's face.

One Down, Seventeen to Go

Dillon celebrated his first birthday on Saturday. It seems like only yesterday we were at the hospital, anxiously awaiting his arrival.

I know many of you are awaiting pictures of Dillon and his party but you will have to wait. Christina and I are still recovering from all the company we had over the weekend. I promise to post pictures throughout the next couple of days.

First Steps

This weekend I had one of those cool proud dad moments. While playing with my Aunt Teri, Dillon decided he would take his first steps. The first reaction was, "Did he just walk?" The second reaction was to grab the video camera. (I'm having trouble with my computer because it is not allowing me to upload video to Youtube. Once I figure it out I will post the video to the blog.)

Now Dillon gets overly excited when we try to get him to walk to me or Christina. He begins to giggle, which throws off his balance, and he goes tumbling down. Nothing is cuter.

Pictures of Dillon follow the two TV links below.

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Wednesday is the season finale of Lost. Catch up on season 3 with this hilarious review. (Beware, it appears as if the whole thing is from a text message yet it is really funny.)

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With this you are one step closer to earning an extra five minutes on your break.

***Dillon swimming with Aunt Michelle and Mom.
This cute picture was taken on Mother's Day.
"Forget that walking thing I just learned. I'll stick with flying!"

Day 2: Venturing Out

Any one who has spent even a little bit of time with me knows that I am extremely picky with my food. However, tonight I will be trying Thai food. Michelle and James are going to meet us tonight for dinner and will take us to a great Thai restaurant. (It is probably the same restaurant Adam recommended to me earlier today.) I have heard Thai is spicy and I do like spicy food so I have hopes it will turn out better than the time I tried salad.

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Never get a hotel room with an eleven month old. If you do make sure you get a suite with a room so you can close the door when it is bed time for the baby. We made this mistake and was forced to put the portable crib in the bathroom so we didn't have to go to bed at 8:30. The downside to this was I had to walk to the hotel lobby to use the restroom.

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Is there an invention yet that keeps you from getting second degree burns from placing a laptop on the lap?

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Friday night I am going to the A's-Indians game. I realized last night the Warriors-Jazz game will be going at the same time right next door. I am expecting a circus because last night during the TNT post game show Charles Barkley hinted about being in the Bay Area on Friday. Should be fun.

Day 1: In the Books

The first day of the conference is now over. Christina, Dillon and I drove over to the UC Berkeley area to walk around and eat dinner. My favorite sight was a guy wearing a shirt in response to Charles Barkley's latest anti-Bay Area rants on TNT. Since this is a family website I can only give clues as to what it said. Clue #1: it was two words that rhyme. Clue #2: the second word is a common nickname for the name Charles.

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Congrats to Craig for making the Vancouver Canucks website.

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As a Lost fan, I am encouraged by the recent announcement that the show will only be on for three more shortened seasons. The show has really hit it's stride since coming back from their winter break. It is nice to know that questions will be answered and the writers will not have to drag out storylines because the network is in favor of keeping the show on the air just because it is a hit.

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Dillon turns 11 months old today. I can't believe he is almost year old already.

Live From Berkeley

I am live blogging (ever wonder why "live blogging" is the new trend in the blogosphere? Isn't any post live when you post it?) from Berkeley, California. I am currently in the hotel lobby taking advantage of the free wireless internet, listening to OK Go on my iPod. The conference is for the MAA/TCM program. You may remember last year the conference was in San Diego but thankfully this year it is closer to home.

Christina and Dillon were able to come with me this year. However, like Adam, I forgot to bring my USB connector for my camera so I can not upload any photos until I get home. So if you are one of the readers who only checks this blog for Dillon pictures, you will have to wait until I get home on Saturday. For the rest of the week, the blog will be what I want to blog about, not pictures I am pressured into posting.

On a random The Office note (this one is for Ed since he had a request in the comments), I checked out this laptop that I am currently using from work. Yesterday, before I left the office I decided to log in with my county ID. Of course it didn't work so I had to talk to the computer lady. She said the computer was password protected using a special code. The code turns out to be no tougher than Michael Scott's password, in fact it was almost identical. For security reasons I can not tell you the password but I will say the password was just one number longer than Michael's and it does not break sequence. The IT lady then tells me I should probably write the password down on a sticky note and place it on the computer. At that point I had to fight back the laughter.

I guess I should stop now and check to see if Dillon has awakened from his morning nap.

Giving you want you want