This Is The Life...

So, currently I'm out back chillin' & grillin' with a beer. The scent of steak fills the air and the weather couldn't be more perfect. Life is great! Unfortunately, the kids are inside as Cale has some sort of viral infection. We can't let one outside without the other getting upset, so they are both inside. I figured why not bring the laptop out and do a little surfing.

Next weekend it looks like we might have a crab feast with my parents. The kids should really like that. I'll try and post some pictures of that event.

Take care for now.

Cade Gets Striped!

Cade Earns His First Yellow Stripe

Cade just earned his first stripe for his yellow belt in Karate today. It's weird. He enjoys doing it, but doesn't practice all that much. As a result he's been somewhat slow to get promoted. We keep threatening to stop, but he really enjoys it when he goes. So for now we'll continue. He's been in the program for roughly a year and a half.

What do you think? Could he possibly be the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? :)

Check Out Freecycle

Freecycle is an online community for your local community that gives you the ability to obtain and get rid of items for free. So instead of throwing something away or selling it, you make it available to someone who can use it. They operate through Yahoo! Groups and get somewhat specific to the location you want. For example, I got Kent County Delaware.

Here is a sample:

OFFER: 10 man tent in Dover

10 man tent in fair to good condition. Its about 6 years old and has some minor holes that can be patched. At this point, I am not interested in doing so myself, so I figured I would put it up here. All poles, lanyards, and all stakes (I am not 100% on the stakes but they are real cheap at Wal-Mart) are present and accounted for.

This tent has a lot of life left and all it needs is some minor repairs. We need something that has a little more privacy and packs up smaller.

If you are interested email me, I'd like to find it a new home ASAP!

Jen

All you have to do is email the person through a link in the post and it's yours.

Check it out! I happened to run across it because of a link in a fellow ReplayTV buddy's forum signature. I looked it up, liked what I saw, and now I'm spreading the word to you. :)

(Yeah, it's late. I woke up after falling asleep early and now I can't get back to la la land.)

It's Showtime!

Well, as I mentioned in the last post, today was Shelly's first day at Meridian. They threw her right into the deep end, but fortunately she can swim. Five or so different projects are already on her desk. She's obviously going to need a little time to get acclimated with the operations of a new company. Everything works a little different from one job to the next. The change is exciting and she seems really happy with the decision she made to leave LAS.

Shelly's Done @ LAS

Yesderday was her last day @ LAS. Monday she begins her new job. I'll report in later and let you know how it goes. We're thinking it'll be a good month or so before she gets to start working a couple days a week at the house. More to come soon.

Rock Star : Inxs - It's No American Idol

AND THAT'S WHY I LIKE IT! Ok, American Idol, for me, was ok. I watched it now and again, but never really got into it. Initially Shelly and I had no intensions of watching Rock Star : Inxs, but it sucked us in by accident. The show just happened to be on while watching Live TV, something we rarely do anymore since we have the two ReplayTV's. A friend of mine, Dee, also mentioned it so we gave it a shot.

Anyway, the show was different enough that we both ended up liking it. The music is also more in vein of what we actually like. Since we started watching on the second show, I went and downloaded the first episode to get caught up. (Our Replay's allow us to share recorded content with other people online via a broadband connection.)

So, the premise is this. Each week everyone performs a song that they pick out of a pool. If more than one person wants a particular song from the pool, they have to hash it out themselves. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that the pool of songs only is as large as the number of people still in the contest. They then get a little time to prepare their performance with a house band. Next, it's showtime and they perform the song in front of a live audience, while Inxs themselves and Dave Navaro (Chilli Peppers) critique them. America decides who the 3 worst performers are. The three people who got the fewest votes then must perform an Inxs song that Inxs picks out for them. Ultimately, the winner becomes the new lead singer for Inxs, so the band is watching people carefully as their songs are performed. Of these three people playing their songs, Inxs personally picks the one that doesn't fit their band the most and politely boots them. In the end, there can be only one.

The show is on 3 times a week, so it does consume a little viewing time. While most of the finalists probably aren't quite as talented as an Idol, they still do have their people that shine. If you're in the Rock genre, you'll most likely be drawn to the show. It cool, check it out. You can get details on the show over @ CBS.com. Let me know who you like in the comments.

The xbox Bug

Cade & Korey Get It On In Halo 2!

I don't know what it is about video games, but they sure are addicting. Cade is to the point where he wants to play all the time. We don't let him, of course, but if he could play all day he would be a happy camper.

Last Christmas Kelly, Keith, and Co. got me an xbox. I had been wanting one for some time up until that point because I wanted to hack it. Anyway, I was blown away with the gift. It was fantastic. What's the first thing the average normal person does with an expensive gift like this? Treat it with care, right? Well I'm far from normal as most of you know. I immediately cracked it open, took it apart, soldered in parts, threw in a huge hard drive, and hacked the sucker. ;) It's a machine to be reckoned with now.

We've got many games, but I suppose Halo 2 is our favorite game. Yeah, I'm also addicted. But I force myself to play in moderation to try and set a good example. The best part of playing Halo 2 is playing it online with others. You can do this through the paid monthly serive of xbox Live or for FREE using a program called xlink kai. Which do you think I use? Yeah, I'm thrifty. We use kai and it works great! Check it out if you have a broadband connection. They support the following gaming systems: GameCube, PS2, PSP, and xbox.

PS - If you ever see Snipe Daddy (Korey) online, watch out! He's a BEAST!

Hide Your PC Now!

I don't know what's in the air, but PC's everywhere seem to be having all kinds of problems. It's been keeping me busy, hence the lack of posts lately. A buddy of mine, Larry, just lost his entire hard drive. It crashed hard and nothing was recoverable. Tonight he bought a 120 GB drive for $40 after rebate from Best Buy and we rebuilt his system.

Fortunately, my computers have been fine (knock on wood). Recently I purchased a new Dell 9100 for Shelly's birthday since she's going to be working from home using AutoCAD. In the past I've built all my systems, but was hard to pass up the price I paid, which also included a 19" flat panel. It's not entirely fair that her system dogs mine now! :)

Anyway, I hope your PC is ok.

Check Out Flickr -- It's Cool!

Flickr is an online community of people that share photos brought to you by the people at Yahoo. It's got many neat features that allow you to look through other people's photos. Each photo that is uploaded, you can assign a title, description, and most importantly tags. Basically the tags are their to assist in searching, so you and others can find certain pictures easily.

Let's say you wanted to search something. Just go to the tags area and enter a tag to search. Try it. That will pull up every single picture on Flickr that has that tag associated with it. Again, the tags are assigned by the people that upload the pictures. People like you and me. My pictures can by found through the tags as well. Here is a specific tag that will take you to one of my pictures. Do a search on HurricaLe.

Anyway, there are two versions of Flickr that you can use. A free version and a Pro Version. There are some minor limitations on the free account. The main one being you can only upload 20 MB of photos a month. Depending on how many photos you share, this might be enough. If you resize the photos, not to be print quality, it will be fine. One of the other nice features is that you can upload the original images if you want. That way if someone wants to print your picture, they have a file of quality. You can save the high quality images, by clicking on a photo in the photo set. There is a little button on top of the picture that reads All Sizes. Click that button and then select Download Original Size.

If you really get into it and start uploading pictures, I recommend just getting the Pro account for $25 a year. With it you get unlimited uploading and bandwidth. Plus there are several other things you get. Find out more about their differences by going HERE.

I encourage you to play with it a little even if you don't upload pictures to it. It really is a very neat and it does a lot more than what I mentioned here. If you create an account or already have one, let me know and I'll add you as one of my contacts. You can add me by searching for the contact name clambert11 or Craig Lambert. You can visit my pictures @ Flickr directly by visiting http://www.flickr.com/photos/craiglambert/ with your browser.

Have fun with Flickr!

Thinking Of Getting A Comcast Cable Modem?

If somewhere in your mind you are thinking about getting a cable modem, now is the time for both you and me.

Here's what you get:

High Speed Surfing @ 4 Mbps (VERY FAST!)

$19.99 for 6 Months (About $40 After That)

Free Cable Modem After Rebate

$75 Cash Back

No Contact or Credit Card Required

Here's what I get:

Credit Towards My Free iPod

The offers ends soon and is only available to new & old cable modem customers. Current cable modem customers can't take advantage of the deal. If you have been tossing around the idea of trying it, now would be a good time. Since there is no contract, you can always quit after the first month if you're not happy. But I know you'll be happy because I love my cable modem. :)

Anyway, click THIS LINK to take advantage of the offer and click on the Comcast Cable link to start the process. If you have any problems, feel free to email me or leave a comment here.

If you are looking for tips in how to lower your bill after the 6 months for $19.99, let me know. I've been successful in lowering my bill.

Happy Birthday Shelly!

Shelly turns 35!!! Another year older, another year wiser, and she's still a pain in the ass. :) Just kidding. Happy Birthday Shelly. I love you!

Shelly Moves On...

After five years with Landscape Architectural Services (LAS), Shelly has decided to move on. The work environment within the company, which is very small, started to be less than desirable. Initially she sought out new employment with her old company Landmark Engineering. Things were moving in the right direction, but were moving slowly. In the meantime, word got out to some people that Shelly was looking for new employment. Meridian Consulting Engineers in Milton contacted her and ultimately made an offer she found difficult to pass up. The only down side is that it's a little bit more of a commute to work. Nearly a half hour more each way. The upside is she gets better pay, more vacation time, sick time, which she didn't get before, and the ability to work from home quite often. The person she will be working for directly actually left Landmark Engineering himself and is a subcontractor to Meridian.

Shelly is very excited to start a new chapter of employment in her life. She has two weeks to tidy up the loose ends at LAS before starting the new job. Wish her luck!

A Day At The Beach - Part II

Cade & Cale Get Buried Alive!

Well, the text message and picture I sent from my phone to the blog didn't work out. It might not do what I was hoping it would. Oh Well.

Anyway, Ken, Larry, and Lori invited us down for the day to Dewey Beach, where they are vacationing for the week. Everyone had a blast and the weather couldn't have been nicer. This was Cale's first time to actually be able to play in the sand and ocean. Cade had a little more freedom this year and enjoyed being able to run around while we watched from a short distance. It was a fun day to a busy weekend. Now back to work tomorrow to relax a little. :)

There are a few other pictures over @ my Flickr page.

A Day At The Beach

Ripken Stadium Rocks!

Def Leppard & Bryan Adams Tear It Up In 2005

So yesterday was the day of the Def Leppard and Bryan Adams concert at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland. We met a couple friends from Jersey (Dee & Allan) before the show and ate at Cracker Barrel. Then we headed over to the stadium where we were a couple hours early. It was apparent by the people pouring in that we needed to get in line right away. The stadium holds 6000+ people and the line was growing quickly.

For some reason digital cameras were not allowed in. I tossed the idea around of sneaking the camera in, but ultimately Shelly decided for me. :) The camera stayed in the van. We took a few pictures in the parking lot, then headed to stand in line.

The stadium, for those familiar, is similar to Camden Yards in Baltimore. It wouldn't surprise me if the very same people designed and built it. It's a beautiful ballpark. We'll have to get over there to see a game at some point. But this time, we were there to see a concert. The infield was roped off so that no one would disrupt it. The entire outfield was surfaced so that the grass was protected. Center field was the location of the stage and was strategically placed so that everyone could see from the seats of the stadium.

This was a different concert than normal for me. How's that? Well, this time we took the two kids. Cade is now 5 and Cale is 2 1/2. FWIW, I was 17 when I went to my first concert. I'm one of those wacky people that tries to get as close to the stage as possible. This time, we knew beforehand that we would be sitting in the stands, as we had the two kids. The bands were actually encouraging people to bring their kids. Any child under 12 got in for free. As a result, many families were there. It was really cool to see.

Def Leppard and Bryan Adams alternated who opened and closed the shows each night. During our show, Def Leppard opened. Cade & Cale weren't overly into watching, but they enjoyed the music. Cale even danced quite a bit and wiggled his rump. This is something so freaking funny. I need to get it digital somehow and post it for you all to see.

Def Leppard did a great job and belted out the more popular tunes. After they finished there was an intermission so that Bryan Adams could set the stage. We brought some bubbles for the kids to play with and they had a little fun with some of the other kids sitting nearby. It got dark and then Bryan Adams took the stage. Both Shelly and I like Bryan Adams also. The kids were content, so we stayed. At this point you could tell Cade & Cale were getting tired. They actually sat and watched the show. Cale eventually even fell asleep. Bryan Adams also did a fine set.

Afterwards, we bought some merchandise and bid farewell to our Jersey friends Dee and Allan. It took us 35 minutes to get out of the lot, but once free from there it was smooth sailing home. By the time my head hit the pillow it was all better of 1 in the morning. It was a long day, but a fun one none-the-less.

There are a few photos of before the show on my Flickr page. Dee and Allan took some photos on their cell phones (my phone was full). The quality is definitely not going to be as good, but I'll post a few when I get them.

Light It!

Fireworks - July 4th, 2005

It was the usual gang at the usual place this year. Dover's Fireworks seem to have gotten a little better over the years. This year was no exception. Pre-fireworks consisted of the kids taking my hat and playing keep away from me. Somehow I always get roped into being taunted by the kids. Truth be told, I like it. I'm a kid at heart.

The weather couldn't be more perfect for fireworks. It wasn't hot or humid, as it normally is this time of year in Delaware. There was a light cool breeze that filled the air and made it the ideal temperature for fireworks. Of course all the running around we did prior to the fireworks left some of us sweaty and stinky, but the cool breeze felt great when we were done playing.

As I mentioned, the fireworks were great this year. Unfortunately, the breeze was blowing our direction and all the cardboard from the fireworks pelted us throughout the show. Cade thought it was fun and collected all the cardboard he could find.

Cale, on the other hand, wasn't so receptive to the fireworks this year. He couldn't pull up the courage to watch. Instead he buried his head in Shelly this year and patiently waited until they were over.

I had the settings on my camera in night mode, and some of the photos of the fireworks came out really cool looking. Check them out @ my Flickr page. You'll have to click on the photos to enlarge them to get the full effect.

Good Deal On Basic Dell PC, Printer, & Monitor

HERE is a Dell deal that's not too bad for a basic PC, printer, and 15" flat panel monitor.

It's $369 after $100 mail in rebate. There are some things you might want to upgrade depending on your needs:

Add $30 for 3.0 GHz w/ 800 MHz FSB

Add $30 for 80 GB Hard Drive

Add $40 for Single CD-RW

Add $70 for 17" Flat Panel

The deal stands fine by itself, but you might want to add the CD-RW at a minimum, as that's really the only important thing it's lacking. Even better, buy it as is and throw a DVD-RW in yourself.

It's small business, but anyone can sign up for a SB account. Just use your name as the company. I've done this before several times without issue.

The deals come and go quick, so if the link no longer works, it's probably dead.

Edit: This deal is dead.

Batman Begins

So yesterday the family and I hit the cinemas to see Batman Begins. This film actually takes you back to the beginning, so you find out how Bruce actually becomes Batman.

I really don't want to give too much away, but I will tell you that I feel this is the best Batman movie yet. Honestly, it's the most realistic as well. Bruce Wayne is more human than Superhero. You'll see less CGI and over-the-top special effects, which makes the movie itself much more believable.

There were a few scenes that I was a little unprepared for and may not have been ideal for younger kids. As it turns out, the movie was rated PG-13. But Cade seemed to take it in stride. If anything, he may have felt a little uneasy and uncomfortable. For those that have seen it, I'm talking about the scenes that involve the Scarecrow.

Overall, I highly recommend going to the theaters to catch this movie. It's so good that I don't think you even have to be into the Superhero genre. There is enough action and a good story line to keep the average movie buff happy with the film.

My final word: See It