CHEO Conference Update

I was going to post some pictures from the conference this evening, but I accidentally left the camera at the booth tonight. :-( Also, the camera hasn't been working very well so I'm not sure how well the pictures turned out anyway.

Today I bought a laptop from a guy here in Columbus. I saw the ad on Craigslist.org and gave him a call. I didn't get a call back, so I figured that due to the low price it must have sold. But I decided to give him a call again today. It turns out that he lost my phone number and the laptop was still available! He dropped the price $100 and I was able to get it for only $750 in the end. The specs are:

• 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo CPU
• 2GB DDR2 RAM
• 100GB HDD
• DVD+/-RW
• 14.1" WXGA+ UltraSharp, TrueLife TFT Screen
• Two high capacity batteries (6 hours each)
• and of course, the ever coveted USB floppy drive :-)

The whole unit costs $1,998.00 customized from the manufacturer, but I guess the guy has some connection with Dell, and does this as a hobby.

Well, there's a possibility that I'll have some pictures up later, but no guarantees as I don't know if I'll have time.

My Five Favorite Senses

Well, here I am in Columbus, OH. We got into town tonight around 6:30pm, and we'll be heading over to the CHEO annual home-education conference for set-up of the Resounding Voice booth/equipment tomorrow morning.

I'll probably post some pictures tomorrow, but in the meantime here's my response to a "Five Senses Tag" that I received from Jessica McDonald. This was really tough to do, so I can't guarantee that each of the five favorites that I listed are actually in my top five, but they'll all be pretty close.


5 favorite smells-

1. Our family's real Italian cooking
2. Our family's marinated/grilled Salmon
3. Freshly squeezed lemons
4. Diesel exhaust on cool mornings
5. 2-stroke engine exhaust on hot summer days


5 favorite sounds-

1. A V8 engine idling with a good exhaust system, and a nice aggressive high-speed cam
2. Music (esp. piano)
3. The deep breathing of an exhausted baby
4. The roar of the ocean
5. Laughter


5 Best things to taste-

1. Homemade lasagne
2. Our homemade meatballs
3. "Squirt" soda (only bottled and cold)
4. Orange flavored ice-cream
5. Hamburgers (crispy, salty, greasy french-fries are nice also)


5 favorite sights-

1. NM/AZ landscape
2. A cleanly mowed and landscaped lawn
3. A huge auditorium with a nice grand piano on stage (with all the lights off, and nobody around)
4. Happy people - relaxing
5. Bright - cheerful colors


5 Best things to feel-

1. Acceleration
2. Weightlessness
3. Cool temperatures
4. Silky sheets with heavy blankets on a cold winter night
5. Greasy tools in my hand


5 People I tag-

1. Caleb McDonald
2. Luke VonHolten
3. Gordon Bender
4. Josiah Erber
5. Joanna Erber

If someone that I tagged doesn't have a blog, feel free to post your 5 favorites in the comments section.

You know you're from Chicago if...

Hey everybody! Here's a little pice of my hometown that I thought I'd share with you all. The Items in red are ones that apply to me. Text in italics is my own commentary.

You're probably from Chicago if...

• You don't pronounce the "s" at the end of Illinois.
• You become irate at people who do. Well I may not become irate, but I do cringe.
  
• You measure distance in minutes. (everything is about 15 minutes away, BTW)
• You have no problem spelling or pronouncing "Des Plaines".
• Your school classes were cancelled because of the cold.
• Your school classes were cancelled because of the heat.
• Stores don't have sacks, they have bags. Did someone from Ohio write this?
• You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. (Ex.: "Where's my coat at?" or "If you go to the Jewel I wanna go with,") (Do you guys know what the Jewel is?)
• You drink "pop". Well, I don't drink much of it, but that is what I call it.
• You realize that I-290, I-90, I-94, and I-294 are all different roads.
• You refer to any interstate highway as "the Tollway". You know the names of the interstates: Stevenson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Dan Ryan and the Edens.
• Road signs indicating the "Ike" don't confuse you.
• You know that the 'Elgin-O'Hare' expressway does NOT go to either Elgin nor O'Hare. And never thought it odd.
• You refer to anything South of I-80 as "Southern Illinois" & anything west of Rt. 47 Iowa!
• You refer to Lake Michigan as "The Lake." and you refer to Chicago as "The City."
• No matter where you are, when you hear the term "Downtown" you immediately assume they're talking about Downtown Chicago.
• You know what goes on a "Chicago" Hot Dog....and you are permitted to shoot anyone who puts ketchup on a hot dog.
• You know what Chicago Style Pizza REALLY is.
• You know why they call Chicago "The Windy City."
• You understand what "lake-effect" means.
• You have ridden the "L."
• You don't care if the "elevated" train (the "L") does run underground.
• You can distinguish between the following area codes: 847, 630, 773, 708, 312, & 815.
• You know what the phone number is to Empire Carpet.
• When you ask "Does this bus go to-da-loop?", you're not asking about the sound the horn makes.
• The "living room" is called the "front room." (pronounced fronchroom)
• You understand that no person from Chicago can be a Cub fan AND a White Sox fan.
• It's "Kitty corner" not "Katty corner."
• You eat your pizza in squares, not triangles, and you never refer to it as "pie"
• "The Super Bowl" refers to one specific game in January 1986.
• You have two favorite football teams: The Bears, and anyone who beats the Packers.
• You have at some time in your life, used your furniture or a friend's body to guard your parking spot in winter
• You respond to the question "Where are you from" with a "side." Example: "West Side," "South Side" or "North Side."
• Going west to Milwaukee (on I-94) doesn't confuse you.
• Every year, you solemnly swear: "This season the Cubs will win the World Series!"
• You think 35 degrees is great weather to wash your car. Yes, I have done this one (but I wouldn't do it ordinarily)!

Here are some things to know before you visit:

• First you must learn to pronounce the city name. It is Chi-caw-go, assuming you live north of Roosevelt Rd., otherwise it's Chi-ca-ga.
• Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Chicago has its own version of traffic rules... "Hold on and pray."
  
• There is no such thing as a dangerous high-speed chase in Chicago. We all drive like that.
• All directions start with, "I-94" .. which has no beginning and no end.
  
• The morning rush hour is from 5 to 11. The evening rush hour is from 2 to 8. And that's in perfect weather conditions.
• If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended, and possibly shot.
• When you are the first one on the starting line, count to five when the light turns green before going to avoid crashing with all the drivers running the red light in cross-traffic.
• Construction on Northwest Tollway is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment.
• All unexplained sights are explained by the phrase,"Oh, we're in Cicero!"
• If someone actually has their turn signal on, it is probably a factory defect.
• First Ave, LaGrange Rd, NW Highway, all mysteriously change names as you cross intersections (only a few of many examples).
• If asking directions in Cicero you must speak Spanish. If you stop to ask directions on the West side you'd better be armed.
• A trip across town (East to West) will take a minimum of four hours.
• Although many expressways (they are not freeways), have posted speed limits of 55, the minimum acceptable speed on expressways is 85. Anything less...you better get out of the left lane.
• The wrought iron on windows in Englewood, Lawndale and Austin are not ornamental.
• If it's 100 degrees, it's "Taste of Chicago". If it's 20 degrees and sleeting/snowing, it's opening day at Wrigley or Comiskey. If it's rained 6 inches in the last hour, the Western Open is in the second round.

Alabama

Boy, it's about time for an update here! Last week after the NYS LEAH Convention, the ResoundingVoice Crew headed down to Alabama to help out with the last few days of Justice Parker's campaign for the seat of Supreme Court Chief Justice. The campaign work was a lot of fun, and it was great to be working for someone who is so firmly based on the truth. Here are some pictures from the trip.

This picture is of Josh's suburban next to an almost identical one before we left New York. It even had the same kind of bug shield!

Fortunately, we were able to stop at the Back's house in Ohio and drop off the trailer, so that we didn't have to pull it all the way down to AL. This was a HUGE blessing!

On the way down to Montgomery we stopped in Birmingham to pick up some tabloids for the campaign. Here's a picture from the front seat facing back. Yes, Ethan is sitting on everyone's lap, between them and the tabloids (the back bench is very small).

Here is a picture from the back bench facing forward.


Here's a picture of us rolling the tabloids!

Monday morning Aaron Englund, Luke VonHolten and I headed out to distribute tabloids. We were given the area from Prattville, AL north along Rt. 31 (Aaron and Luke will testify that I now know Rt. 31 very well).

On the way out we saw this! Wow! I had to look around to make sure that I hadn't gone back in time!

On the day of the election, Ethan Webb got to work the phones.

The election day was also Ethan's birthday! We had ice cream (which was slightly melted) for him.

Talking in the courtyard the day of the election.

Aaron Englund and Josh setting up tables.

The courtyard just before the party.

The Royal Guard.

The office building during the "Victory" Party. The space between the buildings along the left of the picture leads back to the courtyard.

Our crew with Justice and Mrs. Parker.

Justice Parker with Nathan Deladurantey, Justin Kelly and Matt Chancey.

Nothing like a game of football after a hard week's work.

Interception!

Aaron and Corrine fighting for the lemon.

Corrine: Yes! I got it!

Corrine wondering if she really wanted the lemon after all!

Nikkae and Katherine Huber, Joseph Erber and Winston Deladurantey.

Joseph Erber and Winston Deladurantey.

From left to right: Joseph Erber, Jonathan Erber, Brian Benjers, Ethan Webb, Luke VonHolten and Aaron Englund.

On the last night we all got blank green t-shirts (leftover from a campaign event) that everyone signed. Thanks to Aaron Englund, certain ones of us will be getting rub-a-dub markers so that the ink doesn't wash out of the shirts.