This blog…

is terrible. I haven’t posted since September. The blog has become a quarterly. Sweet. I just heard about the swarm of 500,000 birds in Sacramento the other day. This fascinated me.
I found this sweet video on starlings swarming near Oxford, England. Beginning at the 3:18 point simply amazes me. Is this really happening? Are those real birds?

On another note.  I really like the auto-tune remix of “Charlie bit me.”  I find this really catchy and cool.

Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick was bounced by John Isner yesterday in the US Open. I thought he was going to be able to go deep in the draw this year. I was wrong. I took some video of A-Rod serving up some aces to Sam Querrey in Mason, Ohio. He came up short that day too.

Cincinnati Open 2009

The US Open Series brought its game to Mason, Ohio a couple weeks back. I was fortunate to get some tickets from my neighbor back home. I attended the women’s tournament on a Thursday and the men’s on a Monday and Tuesday. I saw Jelena Jankovic and No. 1 Dinara Safina in separate matches. They both ended up meeting each other in the finals where Jankovic won.

I saw a plethora of great players in the men’s draw including, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, former No. 1’s Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin (Dinara’s brother). Also in attendance were Sam Querrey (he defeated Roddick) and No. 2 doubles team Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic. Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic in the championship. Nestor and Zimonjic beat the Bryan brothers for the men’s doubles championship.

This has me all jacked up for this year’s US Open.

Check out some of my pictures.

What goes zzub, zzub?

…a bee flying backwards! haha

My friend has inspired me to post.  She called me out along with a few other friends.  So, this one goes out to her.

She enjoys taking trips, going to festivals, hanging out with fungi, and chillaxin’ with wolf spiders.  She is my hero.  Check out some of her sweet pictures of the Wolf Spider and her babies.

Momma Wolf Spider

spider babies

She set momma free into the wild, aka EKU’s Ravine.  So, be careful where you sit!

A carpenter bee crossed my path today.  He was just hanging out on a twig.  We hung out for a bit and discussed the weather and food.  He likes wood and bugs.  He was a furry little guy.

carpenter bee

“Carl” the carpenter also enjoys music.

His favorite artists are the Bee Gees and Sting.   (Zing!)

Here he is gettin’ jiggy wit it.

A good time was had by all.   We ate, sang and danced.  It was fun.

Reds grounds crew

Robyn Habisch, a member of the Cincinnati Reds grounds crew, slipped and fell under the tarp during the Braves vs. Reds rain delay.

Jim Day spoke to Robyn during the delay:

“They’re not going to stop.  It’s pretty slippery.  I just slipped.  I couldn’t keep up with the fellas.  They’re a lot taller than I am.  I held on for a little while…”

Jim asked Robyn for an update on the rain delay, to see if she had word from the head grounds crew.  This is her response.

“Nooope.  (giggles)  Sorry, I have no inside scoop on that, but…..just waiting it out.”

Robyn earned the game ball today.

Check out the Reds grounds crew during a storm on July 4, 2007.

Yahoo! article

Here is her interview with Jim Day on MLB.com

How I met your mother

This always baffled me and thanks to the Family Guy it finally has come to light.

“Why is the voice of the guy from the future Bob Saget? I mean the guy on the show, he’s already an adult, ya know, so it’s not like he’s going to grow into Bob Saget. Doesn’t make sense.”

Seriously.  I feel ya Peter Griffin.

On another note, who is the mother?  Here’s Bob Saget’s take:

“I’m thinking it’s Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby), who in the future is eventually able to become his own mother/father podmaker. Trust me, it’s going to be crazy.”

Arrested Development quote of the day 5-25-09

Michael: I thought Buster had everything under control. I thought you’ve been going in to the office.

Buster: Yes, and I’ve enjoyed that. It’s just that I was constantly being called to the phone, or I was asked a question, or I was resuscitated and it was really hard to get a good work flow going.

Top posts of the year

Today, May 10, 2009 marks the one year anniversary of my blog.  Here are my top 10 posts of the year:

1. 2008 Olympic Games
2. USS Iowa aka “The Big Stick”
3. Electrical Storm
4. You’re the winner
5. More phenomenal pictures of the electrical storm
6. Wall-E and friends
7. the Office quote of the day
8. Rampage
9. 9/11
10. SNL Digital Short: Japanese Office
11. (tie) the Office quote of the day 7-11-08*

*Top posts are based on number of views.

Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day Moms.  You all make the world go ’round. Thank you.

My Mom used to keep this poem on the fridge. I love it.

When God Created Mothers

When the Good Lord was creating mothers He was into His sixth day of “overtime” when the angel appeared and said, “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.” And the Lord said, “Have you read the spec on this order?”

She has to be completely washable, but not plastic. Have 180 movable parts… all replaceable. Run on black coffee and leftovers. Have a lap that disappears when she stands up. A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair. And six pairs of hands.

The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hand…. No way!”

“It’s not the hands that are causing me problems” said the Lord. “It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.”
“That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. “One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ‘‘What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can without so much as uttering a word.”

“Lord”, said the angel touching His sleeve gently, “Come to bed. Tomorrow….”

“I can’t,” said the Lord, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick…Can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger…And can get a nine-year-old to stand under a shower.”

The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed.

“But tough!” said the Lord excitedly. ” You cannot imagine what this mother can do endure.”

“Can it think?”

“Not only think, but it can reason and compromise,” said the Creator.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. “There’s a leak,” she pronounced.

“I told You You were trying to put too much into this model.”

“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord, ” It’s a tear.”

“What’s it for?”

“It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride.”

“You are a genius!” said the angel.

The Lord looked somber. “I didn’t put it there.”

Erma Bombeck

Kentucky Derby 135

I was in Louisville, Kentucky this past Saturday.  I didn’t make it to the Derby, but I did partake in the action.  I just read my friend’s blog – now only if I read her post before the race, I could be doing pretty well.  She picked the #8 horse, Mine That Bird.  Check out her blog post.

I can’t believe the 51-1 shot pulled it out.  What a great story.  Mine That Bird cost $9,500 compared to the price of Dunkirk, $3.7 million.  Mine That Bird traveled all the way from New Mexico to be in the Derby.  He stole the show. Indeed.

(photo by: Michael Hayman, The Courier-Journal, May 2, 2009)