Highlights from 2012

January, 2012
The  year started off with the Ravens going to the AFC Championship game at New England. Unfortunately, the Ravens lost the game on a missed last second field goal. The Ravens had a fantastic team and we lost it at the end of game.

I revived my vanity plate for the Leaf. This is the plate.  It sums up how it works. There have been a lot of pictures taken by various strangers since I got it.


March, 2012
 I flew into Vegas for the Microsoft Developers Conference. Part of the advantage of becoming a government employee is that I can attend various conferences on the government dime! This is job related and helpful down the road.

April, 2012
April 1: Busy day today. We'll be going to see my grandmother today for her 95th birthday celebration. Then it's off to DC for dinner at Legal Sea Foods and finally, Bruce Springsteen at the Verizon Center! We don't get out as much as we use to and don't do as many shows, so they are extra special when we can. Hopefully a few more in the late summer and fall.



It's funny to look back at this recap. Below is a picture of both kids dying Easter eggs. This is Mickey's first egg dying that he really participated. The year before he was still just to small to really understand the whole egg dying ordeal.

Spring 2017

 I haven't written in a while. I will provide updates as I can recall, and reference pictures and Face Book to fill in the details. This was a very busy year! We went places, participated in a lot. The spring was relatively quiet.

The kids continue to mature. Becca played french horn through elementary school. Mickey did great in his classes, and played baseball and soccer.

I keep going to concerts. I have a separate blog for concerts.

Rouge One: A review...

My thoughts on Catalyst and R1. I listened to the Catalyst audio book as you did. I agree with Jen on a lot of points that she made in her overview of the book. A bunch of new places and planets that should a lot like the places that we are familiar. This seems like laziness on the part of the author. Another peeve I have about the books lately is that a lot of the people and places have a random letter change for no apparent reason. Don’t you think so JYN (Jen)? But I digress.
It was helpful to have an introduction to the new characters before seeing R1. But while listening to the book it was not real enjoyable. Krennic just couldn’t get his act together and he was trying to accomplish tasks way above his paygrade. He started out in the book as a Lt. Commander, and did anything he could to make full Commander. In today’s military it’s usually a given that you will get this promotion if you listen to your superiors and stay out of trouble. Then he wanted to jump from Commander to Rear Admiral. There is a rank called Captain in between. It’s great that he is ambitious in his career, but he could have done it a lot easier.
Now moving on to R1. The rebellion busts Jyn out of jail to ask her where Dad is. She doesn’t know. How about step-Dad? I don’t know either, he dumped me about 5 years ago. (Hey Jyn, maybe it’s you. JK…) Can you get us into see him? Did you try sending an e-mail or text instead of dragging me all around the galaxy? Or don’t we have this thing called a hologram? That might work too. Na, get the frequent flyer miles. Off to Jedha (Jedi named after this planet?) we go.
For no apparent reason, but to torcher the Pilot, because Saw thinks he’s lying about something, put him in with the mind sucking octopus. When the only thing the Piot wants to do is deliver a thumb drive and go on his way. But NOOOOO! Saw don’t play like that! Apparently this thing messes up your brain…for 10 minutes.
Reunion time! Jyn and Saw get together!
Saw: Did YOU…. Come…. to kill me?
Jyn: No. But you should be concerned about that great big battle station in orbit.
Saw: I have a message from your Dad. Watch it right here in front of me.
Jyn: Can I get the thumb drive and watch it back on my ship? You know, the whole battle station thing?
Saw: No, watch it here so we can cry together.
Jyn: Okay…..


While it was a tense battle and we almost got blown up, let’s go get Dad.  Will we need to break in and bust him out? Maybe we’ll get lucky and he will be standing around in the rain. Okay, more frequent flyer miles! One more cross galaxy trip and I’ll have enough for a vacation on Alderaan!
Meanwhile, Krennic gets some facetime with Darth. Not really sure why he needed to see Darth face-to-face, but the Empire has money to splurge! Maybe Darth can give some advice on his ambitions career goals. ACK! *chock* *cough* That didn’t go as well as expected… I think I’ll go check on the guy who built the super laser.
Amazingly everyone shows up at the same place at the same time again. Let’s go get Galen and take him back. Look, he’s standing out in the rain for no apparent reason. It should be easy to shoot him. We have a bad cell signal, I hope they don’t send a squadron of star fighters and blow up the place. Opps… They killed Dad!
Back to Yavin 4 with a new box (ship). People really should take their keys with them when they get out of the car. Jyn figures everyone will believe her, she has no dog in this fight, why wouldn’t they? Not the case. Mon Mothma as usual can’t make a strong decision.  Who do we see at the meeting? None other than Bail Organa who is hob-knobbing with the Alliance counsel. Then it’s time to head back home. Do you guys want me to bring you back anything from Alderaan? Salt water taffy? Chocolates? We have another meeting next standard month right?
Well the counsel won’t save the galaxy, so let’s take matters in our own hands! Again, left the keys in the car. With a dozen buddies and stolen guns, it’s off to the beach!  They get an idea of luring some Imperial troops onto the ship and stealing their uniforms to sneak around the base. I wonder if anyone will try to do this again in say a week on the Death Star?
Again, Krennic needs to go to the exact same place as our heroes. Instead of sneaking around the base, they decide it’s a good idea to alert the whole place that they are they by blowing up stuff. Nothing actually valuable, but just enough to be annoying and announce their presence, instead of sneaking in, getting the plans, and leaving.  And Krennic is the only person to notice that stuff is blowing up. Then he is told that the archives is being broken into.
Since the other 10,000 troops are busy taking care of the dozen rebels. Krennic has to save his own butt. Since Stormtroopers can’t shoot straight, it’s up to Krennic. But Jyn manages to steal the hard drive that contains the plans to the Death Star.  She decides that instead of just getting off planet with the whole thing she will transmit the plans. Which causes its own problems. She manages to transmit the plans and her boy-toy shoots Krennic.
By this time, the Empire decides to wrap up this mess and blow up the tower. In the last 5 minutes of the movie all of the loose ends are tied up and everybody that we just spent two hours getting to know, dies.

It's been a long time!

It's been nearly five years since I've posted an update. The reason I'm posting again is that I have received some feedback from you, the reader. It's time to make a few posts and  bring everyone up to date on The Show!

While things have continued to make progress in life, nothing major has changed. I have seen a bunch of concerts in the past five years, I still play a poker when I can, both kids are still healthy and happy, and still have most of the same friends. And amazingly, I still have the same job.

All this being said, I have made progress in a lot of areas. I've won some decent poker tournaments. I've been to a lot of concerts, nothing really crazy but a lot of the familiar musicians. The kids are now going to school full time and play organized sports (soccer and baseball). They are doing great in both!

I'm going to post the updates split over the years as this is probably the best way to do it. Certain events will have their own post, but for the most part I'll fill in the years to bring it all up to date.

The Leaf at 10,000 miles

I am now at the 10,000 mile mark with my Leaf that I purchased December 23, 2011.  This may not be the car for everyone, but it has worked very well for me and my family.  My family consists of my wife, and our two children ages 2 and 5.  The first thing I did when I test drove the Leaf was to ensure that the kid’s car seats would fit with ample room, and they do.  One of the reasons that I bought the Leaf is to show my kids a better way.  They don’t need to use gas, they don’t need to inhale the exhaust, and they don’t need to hear the noise that a gas powered car makes.

Most of my driving consists of commuting to work, and in and around my local area.  The Leaf does an excellent job at this.  I do have a very short commute (about 5 miles each way).  On average I put about 35 miles per day on my Leaf.  If a fuel efficient car gets 35 MPG, I save a gallon of gas a day.  In monetary terms, with gas the past year averaging about $3.50, that is $1050 that I have not spent on gasoline.  In reality, it is $1050 I didn’t use to burn gasoline. 

This will bring up the point of how much did I spend on electric?  I compared my electric bills between the past two years. My bill for 2012 is actually lower then it was in 2011.  I attribute this to the warmer winter we had in 2012.  In comparing temperate months (March-May) it seems I have used about 10 kwh more per month then 2011.  The cost of electric was less in 2012, so there really hasn’t been a cost increase.  This is about equivalent to doing an extra load of laundry.

I do have a personalized license plate, “NO OIL”.  This is to tell others that this car doesn’t use the stuff.  I have had a lot of compliments from complete strangers that they like the idea.  Having people recognize that this is the way cars are going is the first step.  My hope is that more people will adopt this way of thinking.  It seems like more and more car companies are introducing new models with one of their variants having a plug-in option.  I’ve seen models from Ford, Toyota, and even Cadillac that will be offering the plug-in option.

The 2012 Leaf that I have is the version 1.0 of the electric car.  My Leaf has a MPG equivalency rating of 75 MPGe.  The 2013 model has a 90 MPGe rating.  This was made possible main to more efficient systems within the car.  The Ford C-Max has a rating of 100 MPGe.  These newer models can be thought of as version 1.1.  Around the 2015-2016 model years there will be new battery technology that will allow for over 200 miles per charge.  In addition to the increase in charge capacity, other technology advances will begin to be added to electric cars.  These include the ability to car itself and pick you up.

I’ll continue to give updates as time goes on.  I hope things keep working well and more people buy electric vehicles. 

Living with the Leaf... The 3 month repot

I took delivery of my Nissan Leaf SL on December 23, 2011.  This puts me right about the 6 month point as of this writing.  While it generally is just a car, there have been some lifestyle changes that go along with owning it. 

To begin with, I need to answer why I choose to buy it.  It is not the cheapest car in the world, nor will it ever pay for itself in simple fuel savings.  I am an early adopter kind of person.  Sometimes I have to make a point of where I stand on issues by using my powers as a consumer to promote technologies to advance them for the masses.  This started way back in 1984 when I first bought my Commodore 64 computer and sold the idea of its usefulness to the people I knew.  It happened again in the mid-1990’s when I promoted the Internet to all of those around me.  And I am doing this again with the Leaf.

But since those early days of youth, I now have children. I want to show my children that there are better ways of doing things then the same old tried and tiered ways.  My daughter Becca has asked a few times about the Leaf and why I bought it.  I have explained that it doesn’t pollute, doesn’t smell, and doesn’t make noise like other cars.  She has become keenly aware of these factors compared to a lot of other vehicles on the road.  I think it’s important for parents to set good examples for their children, beyond moral and ethical lines.  I can only hope that she sees this example and tries to make the world a better place as she grows up.

In addition to the saving gasoline, these are the reasons why I bought it.  I also decided to get vanity plates so people know what kind of vehicle I have.  My plates read, NO OIL.  And this has gotten the attention of a few people while out and about.  A lot of people are impressed that the car doesn't use gas.  Sometimes they say it, but a lot of times they have the look like they are seeing the future of driving.  I think they know that the gasoline engine is a thing of the past.

So after 6 months and 6500 miles, I think I am as satisfied as I could be with a car.  I have adjusted to my driving style.  I don't accelerate to a red light, I generally drive the speed limit or a little slower.  The areas that I drive typically have a speed limit of less then 55 MPH.  This is right in the best area where the Leaf gets the best mileage.  I also take my foot off the accelerator when going down-hill and approaching a red light.  I also turn off the climate control when I can.  Rolling down the window works fine most of the time.  I know I'll use the AC in the summer, but for now, it's working fine. 


I can't recommend the Leaf to everyone, but if your commute is less than 30 miles each way, you should consider an electric car.  I'm glad that I've saved a lot of gasoline and I think it's done some good for my kids.  Becca gets the idea that gasoline vehicles are 'Yucky!'.

Wrecking Ball

The latest Springsteen CD is out!  Maybe I've been waiting for something new to listen to for a while, but I like it!  It's not Born to Run or anything like that.  This is a CD with the perspective of a mature person going through tough times. There are 11 songs on the CD.  The title track "Wrecking Ball" and "Land of Hope and Dreams" have been performed on tour.  Do there are 9 new songs.  Of these I really want to hear 5 of them.  A quick run down of the songs and my thoughts:
1 We Take Care of Our Own
This kicks off the CD and should be thought of in context as it doesn't really stand on its own.  But that being said its a strong song to kick things off.
2 Easy Money
I like this song as its an interesting view point about a couple that tries to have a regular life, but his job is robbing people with his wife.  It seems the only way he can make living.
3 Shackled and Drawn
My favorite song on the disc.  I think one of the most interesting parts if the way the lyrics are laid out.  A lyric finishes a line, and that phrase starts the next line.  I also like the beat and flow of the music.
4 Jack of All Trades
This song reminds me og the handyman I have hired a lot, Gary.  Gary has told of how he use to have plans that he would start his company, but by this time would have just been running it.  Instead he has to do most of the jobs, because he is a Jack of All Trades.
5 Death to My Hometown
Great Irish folk song! And Becca likes it a lot too.  This is about what happens when companies suck the life out of your town and then leaves it with nothing.
6 This Depression
The character in this song is depressed.  He is in a position in life where he can't find a way out, but knows that he has to keep struggling on.
7 Wrecking Ball
Originally done to close out Giants Stadium, its now a message of vigilance against the hard times.  People will be strong, dust off and come out fighting.
8 You've Got It
The romantic song on the disc.  After all the depressing songs, this is about the woman who gives you the strength to through all of this and want to come out on the other side.
9 Rocky Ground
Gospel and a touch of hip-hop. I like that Bruce is taking us in a different direction.  I kind of think this song is directed to the President and all of the people that had hope when he came into office who have lost confidence.
10 Land of Hope and Dreams
Done over 250 times in concert, it kind of takes a similar position on the CD.  It lifts us up before we leave.
11 We Are Alive
An interesting song about how we stand together even after we die.  And we meaning the ones who go through hard times and pay the ultimate sacrifice.

There are plenty of detailed reviews out there and I've seen reviews anywhere from 2/5 to 5/5.  I would give this CD a 4/5.  Thinking about Bruce's work in the past 10 years, I have to say I'm proud to be a fan after all this time.

Poker update from 2/19-20

I went to Delaware Park last weekend with my Mom.  In short, I took $500 and came home with $1300.  An $800 profit, not bad.  I played pretty decent I think.  As always, I think there are areas that I could improve, but that would take playing more.  With the kids now taking a lot of time, the only possible way to play more would be on-line, which of course has been banned.
Maybe this time next year I can play at Arundel Mills, but we'll have to wait until that time.