TJ and I are in Greenville, SC for three ice hockey games with a local team. We got through with with the first game Saturday night and are back in the hotel attending to priorities....

Sam's Kumon Award

Tonight Sam received an achievement award from his Kumon program. Sam has been working at his reading and retention exercises every day and making good progress. His school grades are reflecting his progress and efforts. We are all very proud of him for all his hard work.

This is a picture with his teacher - Farzan(sp). She is from Tehran and brings quite a disciplined approach to academics.
This is Sam receiving his award and medal.

Here is a group shot of all the kids who showed up for awards with Farzan and her assistants instructors. Pretty diverse group.


I told Sam how proud I was and that a mind is a terrible thing to waste. He felt the same way about his chips and Sprite.
Good job Sam!! Keep up the good work.

Garden Friends

Still nothing but ice hockey all weekend - so I posted a few pictures of two of our garden friends that I collected over the past year.

These garden spiders can get pretty colorful. This bugger had a sizable web just off our front porch. The kids threw him/her a few crickets for dinner.



This fellow showed up on our back deck one Sunday morning. He/she blended in with the deck wood. I am not sure if it can change colors to match surroundings or if it is permanently worn deck wood grain in color. Looks like a fierce predator in the bug world...

Not much interesting stuff going on around here these past two weeks other than the kids Ice Hockey. As absorbing as it is to us, it will surely bore you all.. So, inspired by Jim's retro photos, I decided to add something interesting from August 2006.

Jody got me a ride in a biplane for my birthday back in 2006. I added just a few of the photos of the experience.

This is me in front posing by the engine of the aircraft. This a refurbished Navy trainer. I am not sure years the plane saw service. The pilot rebuilt the plane himself. Notice the camera mounted on the wing strut above me and slightly to the left. The pilot remotely shoots pictures of his passengers in the forward cockpit.

Here we go down the run way. Pretty smooth takeoff. I never flew in a small craft before. This plane lifts off at about 80 mph. Felt strange to fly at such a low speed.

Here is the in flight picture of me while we flew over down town Atlanta. The pilot ducks into his cockpit to make it look like I am up there flying on my own.

I took this picture of down town with my camera. I used my 75X300 lens at 75mm for this shot. The pilot has an aerial photography business. He gave me some good advise on my settings for shooting from a moving aircraft.

After the turn back North from down town, I was able to get this shot the Turner Field... AKA "The Ted" or "The Jane" Kool shot. I have this one printed on 16x20 and framed in my den.

This was a fun experience. I am going to pursue more aerial shooting....

Thank God we are back to normal Atlanta weather. Sam and I took advantage of a fine day - taking a hike up Kennesaw Mountain with the dogs. I had Sam hold the dogs while I shot a few snaps. Sam has been gaining a steadily growing advantage in his battle of wits with the dogs - as seen in the picture, he is in complete control of the situation.

However, he could only last so long. Foiled again - Sam, hands bound and subdued by the dogs needed rescue.

All in all it was a nice hike and good exercise.

Ryland decided to stay home and train on his Super Bowl snack food eating.
Hopefully, more exciting updates tomorrow...

This week end concluded with one last hockey game for TJ. The rink has a bar that overlooks the ice. Once again Jody is happy......

It is Sunday night. We are all tired yet pleased with an eventful week end. We conducted a short interview program on the way home from the rink across town. We shot the program in 8 segments.

Enjoy our new show: "The Ride Home"

This morning TJ took a 4 hour placement test for the Cobb County High School Magnet Program. This test took its toll on TJ since he had to skip a High School hockey practice and a Rec Team league hockey game. We are very proud of him for his efforts and sacrifice. His team won without him. Ryland's team did not do so well.

Jody, Ryland, and I went to pick him up from the test site. Sam stayed home to recover from a sleep over party he attended last night.

I recommended that we go out for lunch after we recovered TJ.

This made Jody very happy.

We decided to go to a new restaurant that just opened a local airport. We were not sure where the restaurant was. We know we had to be close.

We found it! Jody again was happy.

I had the privilege to sit next to one of Cobb County's smartest. Apparently, the thrill was not reciprocal. I think that TJ is only pretending that he does not dig getting a snap with this old man.

Ryland was thrilled that he got the window seat and saw some planes take off and land. He also saw few helicopters flying about as well...

TJ is reviewing his experience at his test this morning. He we pretty confident that he did well. We will see. He is usually a good judge of his own performance on tests. He is the man of the day to me this fine day.....

No stock picks for me after yesterday market finish.. Holding onto the cash for now...