Echoes from the Blue

Press the Pause Button...

2009-11-03T21:30:00.002-05:00

Have you ever said something in the spur of the moment that you immediately regretted?

With Twitter, Facebook, text messaging, and the like, it is easier than ever to stay connected. Right now, I am typing this blog post on my mobile phone.

However, it is also invariably easier to be too quick to speak, and, in doing so, speak without thinking. Just this past week, the Kansas City Chiefs suspended running back Larry Johnson because of his devisive comments on Twitter. Because of, and in spite of, our technological advances, and our reliance on social networking, we have lost something. Chuck Olliver, sports radio DJ in Atlanta, said it best: "We have lost our ability to pause." In normal conversation, we usually take the time to think through our thoughts. But, in social networking communication, we tend to "speak our peace," without stopping to think about what we are saying (or typing).

The Bible says in the book of James that we are to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger" (James 1:19). We need to take the time to pause. Whenever your boss treats you unfairly, don't immediately post it on Facebook. When your wife isn't listening to you, don't tweet it on your way to work. Take a step back. Take a breath. Hit the pause button. Think it through. Try to see the other side.

Slow to speak, quick to hear, slow to anger. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait.

~E~

The Agent: An Unfinished Tale...

2009-08-04T19:08:00.004-04:00

Well, to anyone who saw my tweet earlier today, I ran across a story I had started writing five or six years ago. It is a story of intrigue and action; suspense and daring...well it would have been, had I ever finished it!

It is a story about a secret government agent, Derek Williams. I had some really big plans for this story, but I never got around to finish it. In fact, I never really got it completely started.

I think the story is pretty good, if I do say so myself, but definitely needs some touching up (in addition to finishing it, or course--seeing the pattern?)

Anyway, if you care to read it, it is here.

Busy Busy Busy....

2009-07-13T11:13:00.003-04:00

Well, things have been crazy busy lately. The project I am working on at work is deploying, meaning I am in the field (thankfully it is local), and so I haven't been able to update the blog much.

I am using Twitter now, so if you really need to keep up, you can check me out at http://twitter.com/bigeasy60.

Super Dad

2009-06-08T21:31:00.003-04:00

Being a dad is not for the faint of heart. When you become a father, God entrusts you with another life -- a whole person that you are supposed to mold and shape into something that is pleasing to God and functional to society. Society's demands on what a man/woman should be are pretty high, but God's standards are higher...much higher.

We, as fathers, are stewards of our children, just like we are stewards of our time, talents, and money. We will ultimately answer to God for how we have raised our children -- and that should send a chill up your spine. Paul wrote that we should not "exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart." (Col 3:21) He also stated that we have the responsibility to discipline and educate our children in the Lord (Eph 6:4). Those are big responsibilities to have. We are responsible for how our children turn out.

Tonight, I was delivered a wake-up call of sorts from my 2 year old son. There is no doubt that he loves his daddy. But I, like most fathers, tend to have a hard time actually spending time with him. When I get home from work, I want to relax. I want to zone out and watch TV, or something. But all Zachary wants is for his daddy to play with him. He is craving some attention from me. Most nights, I confess, I just want him to play on his own, and stay out of trouble. But tonight, it hit me how important it is for me to spend time with him. Why I must make time for him.

After his bath tonight, I got him into his PJs. Tonight, his shirt was a Superman shirt. After I got him ready for bed, I left him to play in his room, while I went to our bedroom. Jessica and I were sorting through some old clothes. As we have both lost a little weight recently, we were looking to see if any of the old clothes fit. I grabbed an old t-shirt that had a Superman logo on it, and decided to try it on, since Zach was wearing his (it fit, happily). As I was putting it on, Zach came into the room, and saw my shirt. He started saying "Superman!" and pointing at my shirt. He was saying it over and over, "Superman! Superman!"

I pointed to his shirt, and asked him, "are you Superman too?" His reply: "No! Superman Daddy! Superman Daddy!"

My son thinks I am Superman. It's time I started to act like it. Maybe it is time for you to act like a Superman to your kids too.

Brave New World...

2009-06-05T08:54:00.004-04:00

Well, it has been a while since I posted something sports related, so I figured today I would talk about what has been going on with the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are 26-26 this year, and sit in 3rd Place in the NL East, 6 games back of the Philadelphia Phillies.

But, the big news out of Atlanta this week was this: Tom Glavine was released in order to make room for rookie standout pitcher Tommy Hanson.

I guess this move wouldn't bother me so much, if the Braves had handled the situation better. I understand the cost and the liability of having Glavine pitch a game you think he will end up losing, but the man did all that you asked him to do. Why wait until he is about to make his season debut to do it? To save yourself $1+ million?

Now, don't get me wrong, Hanson does make the Braves a better team. But he is still a rookie, and Glavine is a 300-game winner, hall of famer. From a baseball perspective, it was the right move. From a personal perspective, it was bad. You gotta treat people better than that.

Now, on to the other move that went down last week: Nate McLouth is an Atlanta Brave!
McLouth is a career .261/.339/.462 hitter, with 60 career HR, and he won a Gold Glove in CF last year. He was an All-Star for the Pittsburgh Pirates last year, as well. He is under contract through 2011, with a club option for 2012.

Many people wonder what the aquisition of a center fielder does to Jordan Schafer's place in the organization. Schafer is a much better defender than McClouth, and both men can play all three outfield positions. So, I don't see that this causes any problems. More than likely, it will allow Schafer a year in AAA to get his swing back together, and he will patrol CF next year with McLouth in LF. That does mean that Jeff Francoeur will have to step up his game in RF, or he may find himself playing somewhere else.

I really like the McLouth trade. The guys we gave up were pretty good, but we needed a bat in the outfield, and McLouth is young and a decent fielder. Assuming the Phillies start playing like humans, and not baseball-programmed robots, the Braves still have a good shot at winning the East.

Only time will tell, but I do have a good feeling about this Braves team. Or, as Zachary would say, "Go Braves!"

Gone to the dogs...

2009-05-25T10:55:00.003-04:00

So, I was going through some old pictures, and I found a few of Zachary with Grandma's last set of puppies. I thought they were cute enough to share. Enjoy!

He's a mess, but he loves those puppies!

Remembering Chris...

2009-05-13T08:44:00.004-04:00

I got a call yesterday, informing me that a good friend of mine from SPSU, Chris Shaffer, had died. He collapsed on the bus on his way to work. He was 29. Please pray for his wife Jennifer, and their two young children, Makayla and Ben.

This is a picture from one of our labs at school.

Chis was a jokester, and the sign "I Love Digital!!" was a dig at the professor taking the picture. It was an Electronics 2 lab exercise, and Professor Hodges was an analog guy. So, for fun, Chris made up that sign.

We spent countless hours together working on projects, or playing paintball, or just hanging out.

I hadn't seen Chris in a while, and had talked to him a few months ago. He seemed well, and happy. It is sad that someone so young is now gone. It is a statement to how short life really is, and that we are never promised a tomorrow.

R.I.P. Chris.

Format Changes

2009-05-12T13:15:00.002-04:00

So, I decided to shake things up a bit. Changed my layout, etc. Gotta keep you all on your toes.

Hopefully I will have a new post sometime this week.

Weekend Adventures

2009-04-27T10:11:00.006-04:00

This weekend, we had a few family adventures. Saturday, we decided to go to Stone Mountain, and take the walk-up trail.

We actually made it all the way up to the top! Zachary did a good job climbing up there, and seemed to have fun. The climb down was a bit rougher for him, because he was really tired, and it was really HOT Saturday. But we had a lot of fun.

On Sunday afternoon, we went out to Patrick and Holly's and grilled out some ribs! Before we left, Zachary had to go see the horses. He actually petted a couple this time!

It was a good weekend, and we had a lot of fun!

~E~

Making Brownies...

2009-04-22T08:55:00.002-04:00

So, we decided to make some brownies last night. Zachary wanted to help. Here he is helping mix them up (although we had already poured them up at this point, he still wanted to mix).

Here, he figured out he could lick the spatula.

"Mmmmmm...these are yummy, mommy!"
"I like making brownies!"

It was a lot of fun, although he had more on his shirt and face than he had in his tummy.

~E~

Gwinnett Braves Game

2009-04-20T09:32:00.003-04:00

Saturday evening, we went to the Gwinnett Braves game. It was opening weekend for the new Gwinnett Stadium, and it was pretty packed. We got seats on the outfield berm, and it was pretty fun.

Out in the berm, they have several of those blow-up bouncy things for the kids to play on. Zachary had fun playing on one of those.

He also enjoyed watching the game (for about 2 minutes), and cheering whenever we did something good.

It was a lot of fun, and something we will probably do a lot more!

~E~

Stone Mountain Choo-Choo Ride...

2009-04-06T11:18:00.006-04:00

On Saturday we went to Stone Mountain for a picnic lunch, and walked around a bit. It was a lot of fun. While we were there, we walked over to the "Walk-up Trail" and took the train back to the village. We took the train because Zachary loves trains. We figured, since he slept through his ride at Dollywood last fall, we would see how he liked this one.

He did pretty good. We were far enough back that it wasn't too loud, so he seemed to enjoy it. He actually wanted to get back on and ride again!

~E~

"Then"

2009-03-26T11:55:00.003-04:00

Heard this song the other day, and I had to put this here. This is for you, Jess:

I love you, baby!

~E~

Get on your trike and ride!

2009-03-23T16:10:00.005-04:00

So, we went up to see Nana and Papa this weekend, and took some time to ride Papa's newest toy, his Harley-Davidson Tri Glide. It is a factory direct trike from Harley and it is sweet.

It was the first time I had ever ridden a motorcycle, but I didn't do too terrible -- I only killed it a couple of times. It was a blast to ride, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Zachary isn't really sure about it yet, though. Loves to see motorcycles and even Papa's trike, but he doesn't want to get on it yet.

I'm sure that will change sometime soon.

~E~

Happy Birthday Nana!

2009-03-06T08:49:00.003-05:00

Today is my mom's birthday! She's a wonderful....well, I'm not going to say how old, because I value my life ;).

Love you mom!
~E~

What Happened?

2009-02-19T09:10:00.003-05:00

Well, so much for seeing Junior Griffey in a Braves uniform.

Apparently miffed that the AJC reported he was going to choose the Braves, Griffey backed out of talks with the team, and decided to head back to where it all began for him, in Seattle.

I gotta say, I am disappointed. I was really hoping to see him in Atlanta this year. Oh well. It is what it is.

~E~

Spring is in the air....

2009-02-18T08:57:00.003-05:00

Ahhh...baseball is here again! That's right, Spring Training has started, and that means that we will have real games real soon! I love baseball. It is a great game. Some people think it is boring, but I don't understand how. Baseball is like chess, only with 90 mph fastballs thrown in for color.

Of course, most of you know, I'm a Braves fan. Now, the last few years have been a bit disappointing for the Bravos. We haven't made the post season for three years now, and last season was about two-steps short of a full-on disaster. But this year is gonna be different.

The Braves have a revamped rotation that stacks up favorably with everyone else in our division (better than some). The rotation projects to be Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, Javier Vazquez, Kenshin Kawakami, and Tom Glavine. Glavine, who is currently a free agent, is expected to sign with the Braves at any time. According to David O'Brien, the Braves beat writer, it is a matter of crossing the t's and dotting the i's.

Now, the exciting news for me. According to the AJC, Ken Griffey Jr is going to be a Brave. I know that he is past his prime, and I know that he isn't "The Kid" anymore, but, I have always liked Junior Griffey, and have always wanted him to be a Brave.

If this works out, we would have two guys with over 1000 combined HR on the field at the same time (Chipper has 408, Griffey has 611). I am just crazy excited to see Junior on the field as a Brave.

I saw this picture the other day, and figured I would post it here. It is from 1987. That is Ken Griffey Jr standing with his father in the Braves dugout. Interestingly enough, as a rookie, Tom Glavine's left fielder was Ken Griffey Sr. He could make his first start of 2009 with Ken Griffey Jr as his left fielder. What a way to bookend a career!

~E~

Random Zachary Pics

2009-02-03T14:29:00.008-05:00

Well, no real theme today. But since I haven't had time to update recently, I'm just gonna post some random pics we've taken in the last few weeks. Above is Zachary in my cowboy hat. He is such a little farmer.

Here's a couple that Jess took that are precious.

Jess caught him sneaking some Cool Whip out of the fridge!

I love this picture! I took it on Christmas day, when Zachary was playing with his new tractor at Nana and Papa's.

Like Father, like son. He loves biscuits and jelly.

Yummy.

Well, that's it for now. Just figured I'd throw some stuff out there while I had a moment.

~E~

Super Bowl Matchup

2009-01-20T09:26:00.003-05:00

Well, the teams are set for Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. The Arizona Cardinals will "host" the Pittsburgh Steelers (the NFC is the designated home team in odd numbered Super Bowls).

I have to say, it has been a year of bad predictions and much crow eaten. I didn't think Arizona would get past Atlanta. I didn't think they could hang with Carolina. And I knew that they would get blown out by the Eagles. Well, I have to say, after watching that game, the Cardinals really are a good team. Kurt Warner isn't fazed by blitz pressure, and Larry Fitzgerald is catching anything thrown within 20 yards of him. This team was mediocre during the season, but peaked at the right time.

The Steelers, on the other hand, have the best defense in the NFL right now. It will be interesting to see if their blitz packages will rattle Warner, or if he will pick apart their secondary like he did the Eagles'. Roethlisberger will need to have a big game, and that Steelers running game will need to be going.

I think the Steelers will win the game, but I think it will be closer than expected. The Steelers are going to the big game for the second time in four years, and for the seventh time overall. The Cardinals are going to their first Super Bowl (they did win an NFL Championship in 1947). However, Kurt Warner was the Super Bowl MVP for the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV, so he has "been there, done that."

It will be an interesting game, and I am looking forward to seeing it.

~E~

Star Wars Story

2009-01-16T13:54:00.003-05:00

OK, so I get an email at work today from a colleague of mine, who is also a Star Wars fan. Somewhere out there, he came across a link that was extremely funny.

Basically, this is a retelling of the plot of the original Star Wars trilogy by someone who has never seen all of the films in their entirety. As a Star Wars nut, I found it mucho hilarious.

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

~E~

Under the Weather....

2009-01-16T09:18:00.004-05:00

The joys of winter. Those wonderful, bitterly cold days, when you have so much sinus pressure that it feels like you need to take a drill directly to your forehead, just to get some relief.

Ahhh...such a great feeling!

So, it has been a yucky few days (or, more realistically, weeks). Zachary has had croup and impetigo again, and as he got over that, he had a cold to back it up.

Meanwhile, I had a cold that turned into a sinus infection, that turned into a sinus infection plus an ear infection. Yay me!

And while all of that was going on, Jessica came down with a sinus infection too!

So it has been a wonderful few weeks at our house. And there is nothing like force-feeding a toddler medicine, let me tell you that! Jessica is a lifesaver, because I can't do it. I don't know how she did it during the day -- holding him down (that is both arms and legs), holding his head, and shooting the antibiotic/steroid/fever reducer down his throat, and avoiding the inevitable spray as he tries not to swallow it. All that on her own. Crazy. Moms are superheroes, straight up.

Anyway, that is the main reason for the lack of bloggage here. Well that, and the fact that we have been so busy lately as a family, and I've been so busy at work. Just a crazy time.

Who says things slow down after the holidays?

Later,
~E~

End of an Era...

2009-01-08T16:06:00.004-05:00

Today is a sad day for Atlanta Braves fans. Free agent pitcher, and 21-year Brave John Smoltz is set to sign a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Braves Nation is understandably upset. The fans (most of them, anyway) feel betrayed by the organization. I don't really feel betrayed, per se, but I do think that Frank Wren and the boys in the front office should have given Smoltz whatever it took to stay here. Then again, spending $5 million in guaranteed money is not the smartest baseball move for a team that is financially limited in more ways than a team like the Red Sox.

This is a tough one. I love Smoltz, but I think ultimately he chased the money and another shot at the playoffs; he chose that over sticking with the Braves (who, by the way, did offer a contract that was fair, but not what he was looking for). I'm torn here.

I do hope he does well for the Sox. And I hope he beats the Yankees every chance he gets. I also hope that our Braves can still make some moves and fill some holes. Sign Derek Lowe, and sign Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu (or even Manny Ramirez). And bust our butts trying to get back to October.

Here's a quick mock-up of what John Smoltz might look like in late September:

Godspeed, Bearded Icon.

~E~

They did it!

2009-01-08T11:10:00.003-05:00

Holly and Patrick got married this past weekend. The wedding went well, and it was beautiful.

Both Jessica and I were in the wedding, and Zachary was a ring bearer.

He was the life of the party, too. I think the photographers got more shots of him than they did of Patrick and Holly!

I, along with Holly's friend Amy sung one of her favorite songs, "100 Years," by Five for Fighting. Ashley, Holly's sister, played the keyboard on the song.

It was a fun day, but very exhausting.

Special thanks to Sandra Oglesby for the pictures.

~E~

Fire up that Ol' John Deere...

2008-12-29T18:18:00.003-05:00

We're still at Papa and Nana's, and today, Zachary played on the tractor. He loved looking at it, and even playing on it, but he doesn't like it when Papa tries to crank it up.

Here Papa is showing him some of the switches.
"Hmmm...I wonder what happens if I do this?"
When Papa tried to fire it up, Zachary almost jumped off the seat into Mommy's arms.
Zachary loves tractors, and loves John Deere. He's our little country boy.

~E~

Christmas Time is Here!

2008-12-26T12:10:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas! Zachary got tons of toys, and had a blast. He got a pedal tractor from Papa and Nana.

Jess got some more sewing stuff, and I got a Star Wars trivia book (and of course, I already found a question that is keyed with the wrong answer. Go figure!). Zachary also got some train stuff.

It has been a great Christmas so far, and we're at Nana and Papa's with Ken, Terri, and the girls now.

We rarely do the "traditional" thing, so this year for Christmas dinner, we are doing home made pizza. We're cooking them now, so it is gonna be yummy!

Love ya all, and Merry Christmas!

~E~