Yesterday evening, Hershey decided he preferred the chimnea to his bed.

We got Hershey! He's got a cough, and wasn't very active on Saturday, but on Sunday he came around and was pretty active. I've got to bring him to the vet this evening because of the cough, hopefully it's not anything real bad. Isn't he cute?

Hershey

Hershey,
originally uploaded by JoeMoab.

We're taking a short trip Saturday to go adopt this little guy at an animal shelter. They named him "Mini Hershey", we think we're going to shorten that to Hershey. Isn't he the cutest? (Visit petfinder.com to find other animals to adopt.)

Audio Books Galore!

I've made a recent personal discovery: audio books. It's not like I never heard of them before, nor was it a recent discovery to find free audio books... it's just that I had the occasion to try them out. Recently my company started pushing excercise classes, and offers incentive to go to them. I got tired of listening to the same old music on my mp3 player, so I thought I would try out an audiobook. Once I tried, I found out I loved them and now I can't get enough of them! I've found Librivox, and audio books on Project Gutenberg. I'm currently finishing up Robinson Crusoe. Go ahead, download some, and if you don't have an mp3 player then burn a CD and listen to them that way. (Note that Project Gutenberg has ebooks as well, but I just linked to the Audio Book category.)

My first tomato!

My tomato plants are doing great! They’re about two and a half feet tall now, and I’ve got my first tomatoes forming! The tomatoes are about the same size as the tip of my little finger, but they’re there. I can’t wait until they’re ready to pick and eat.

See more progress on: grow tomatoes

Cookies!

Lifehacker had a link to this article about stress management today, and I like it. I already used to keep in mind that the situation is temporary whenever I'm under stress, but this article stated it well.

Ave Maria, FL

I just heard about the "Catholic Town" being built in Florida. According to some reports, the Domino's pizza founder is building a town which will be strictly catholic. Of course, the ACLU is sticking their nose in, and stirring up controversy. So, I ask, what is the big deal?

They're building a catholic university, and plan to build a town around it based off of traditional family values. First comes the university. Won't most (if not all) the students there be catholic, and hold to strict moral and traditional values? In theory, they will comprise most of the population anyway. So, they won't have a problem with it.

Next comes the town. I just saw an interview with the principal investors on the Today show. They say that it's a misconception that certain things (contraception) will be banned. Yes, it will be discouraged, but not banned. Again, in a town comprised of mostly catholic people, it stands to reason that it would be discouraged by belief alone, not by some governmental statement. Also, anyone can move there of course, you don't have to be catholic.

So, again, I ask... what's the big deal? If I wanted to start a community where everyone is a movie star, or works with movie stars, then more than likely the whole community will hold to similar values and have similar views on things. No governmental restrictions are needed because nobody else would want to live there very long anyway... oh wait, that's Hollywood huh?

I think as the cell phone became more prevalent in our society, people's attitudes have changed. I was at a stop light yesterday and I noticed a "Hang Up and Drive" bumper sticker on the truck in front of me. As the light turned green, I happed to notice the driver in his side view mirror... an old gray haired man gabbing away... with a cell phone stuck to his ear. So, does this mean that it's gradually getting more acceptable to talk on the phone and drive at the same time?

The answer to life, the universe, and everything is forty-two. I thought of this tonight while reading Matthew chapter 1:

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

Yup... the answer is forty-two... the number of generations from Abraham to Christ. That's the answer to life, the universe, and everything. (Reading the Bible is one of my 43 Things goals, I'm starting with the New Testament for now.)

One of my 43 things goals (click on the "My 43 things" link to the right to see my goals) is to take more photographs. I also thought it would be fun to take photos regarding each of my goals I've set for myself. So, here is a photo of me accomplishing my goal of taking more photographs! I know... I'm kinda weird... but then again, I like me that way. Visit my photo stream to see more interesting photos I've taken lately. (Note: I can't figure out which I like better, Flickr or Zoto, but for quick photos I like Flickr and for lots of photos with the same subject [i.e. albums] I like Zoto. That's why in my links to the right, when you click on "My Photo Galleries" you'll go to Zoto, but if you click on "My Photo Stream" you'll go to Flickr.)

Come on. You know you want some. Everybody does. If you can resist these puppies, either you have some sort of weird gene that makes sugar hurt your tongue or you have the willpower of the Dalai Lama. I always end up buying a bunch and eating them all up within a week.

I was on the phone with my dad today, and he asked about my tomatoes I'm growing. He also asked about the bell peppers and why I was growing those. I said that we use them a lot, they're good sauteed with onions on hot turkey wraps, and we also eat them stuffed with taco meat and potatoes and topped with cheese. He just groaned... obviously he hates bell peppers.

Anyway, this got me to thinking... I've heard before that they're not all that nutritious anyway, and that pigs won't even eat them! So I looked 'em up (gotta love the internet!) Well, bell peppers do have nutrients, but they're not as good as broccoli, or lima beans, but they do have onions beat! And about the pig thing, it's not true according to this site about potbellied pigs.

My step-daughter... the bike rider!

Last weekend she was able to start and stop by herself, but she couldn’t do it consistently and she had not attempted to make a turn more than turning a corner. This weekend she has been able to consistently start, stop, and turn around in the street! She can ride a bike by herself now! Of course, she’s not going to be riding by herself, she’s still too young to be riding all by herself. I just have to get my bike’s flat tires pumped up, and we’ll ride together now! I’m so proud of her!

See more progress on: teach my daughter to ride a bike

Going paddling...

While working out this morning, my wife asked about the shirt I was wearing. It was a Chatooga river t-shirt, which I got while white-water rafting with friends a few years ago. I told her about it and said we should go sometime, but first we should probably go canoeing to get her feet wet (no pun intended.) Also, our step-daughter could go with us on a canoeing trip. Now I’ve added this as a goal that I want to do this year!

See more progress on: take my wife and step-daughter canoeing this summer

I have sprouts!

My tomatoes are sprouting! The grape tomatoes appear to be growing faster than the regular, but all are now pushing out of the peat pellets. The packages for the tomatoes say they sprout in about 7 days, they’re a little early, but I’m also using a little greenhouse type contraption. The bell peppers are slower, the package says it could take them 10-12 days, but I do see little feelers poking out of a couple of those seeds.

Oh, and I also got my 6 yr old step-daughter a little “grow your own sunflower” pot at the same time as when I got my tomatoes. It’s already about two inches high, and she’s excited. We’ll have to transplant it sooner than the tomatoes.

See more progress on: grow tomatoes

All by herself now!

She can now start, ride, and stop by herself!  She's not consistent yet (in that she can't always start, or stop), but she's doing great!

Deepest Sender Firefox Extension

I've switched over to using Firefox now for all my web surfing. I like the whole tabbed browsing thing, and the fact that I can download extensions for all sorts of little things. Like this one I'm using now, Deepest Sender. It allows me to post to my blog without going to Blogger.com first. Just a little bonus... oh, and I like how 43 things will post to my blog too when I make an entry under one of my goals. Now I'm truly starting to understand the hype around web 2.0.

Went around the block today...

Well, I’ve been trying to teach my step daughter to ride her bike for a few weeks now. We do a little each weekend.

Last weekend we met the milestone of her being able to ride more than a few seconds without me holding onto her. I think I was more excited than she was! I snatched her up and hugged her and told her I was so proud of her. She just smiled sheepishly and giggled.

This weekend she’s gotten even better. She was able to ride all the way around the block only stopping once to take a rest. During the stop she looked over at me, smiled, and said what was probably the best “thank you” I’ve ever received. Life is good.

See more progress on: teach my daughter to ride a bike

Today I took steps toward accomplishing a couple of my smaller goals I set on my 43 things! I had a workout with my wife, and I started growing some tomatoes! The workout was fun, and I hope to have my wife as a workout buddy more often. The tomatoes I'm not so sure about, I worry that I didn't put the seeds down far enough in the peat pellets but only time will tell!

I found this cool site the other day, 43 things. It allows anybody to keep up with 43 goals they'd like to attain in life. Both my wife and I have set up our goals (not yet 43 though), and now we're off! It's pretty cool, and the link to my list is http://www.43things.com/person/Joemoab , some of which will never be attained, and some of which I can never mark off the list, but could be attained.

Stalkers rejoice! In an era when personal privacy is being eroded everywhere we look, and many people are raving mad about it, it's refreshing to see that some people just don't give a damn. Never mind that this could give a mentally unstable ex the information they need track down their prey, it's great that they don't have to sit next to a perfect stranger.

Just testing blogging using Flock with Flickr photos! That's me... in Detroit... after sledding downhill in the snow last month. It was fun, but as you see the hat messed up my hair.

Our memories are such funny things. Why is it that every time I hear "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice, I think of the first time I heard it? I was at my girlfriend's house (well before she became my wife), it was late, and she had fallen asleep in my arms as we watched the Late Show. Damien Rice came on and performed "The Blower's Daughter." His performance was really haunting, and caused me to go out and buy the CD the next day. Why does this song stick out in my memory so much? Possibly Damien Rice's haunting performance? More likely the fact that this is when I realized I was hopelessly in love with the woman in my arms.

I just read about bedbugs in New York. I've read about them before, but I can't remember why or when. This past September when my wife and I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a week I was slightly worried about them. When we got to the hotel, I remember pulling the sheets back and looking around the bed carefully... although I'm not sure this inspection would have netted any results even if they were present.

Our main problem at our house are mosquitos. I don't know why, but they are ALWAYS hanging around our front door area, and invariably find their way into the house. Each night my wife and I see one in our bedroom while watching TV before going to sleep. Now and again I notice one in the bathroom, and go into mosquito hunt mode. I run around slapping the air like a maniac for a while, and usually kill two or three. I've got to figure out how to reduce the population around the front door.

By the way, I was kind of amused while reading the wikipedia article about mosquitos. I noticed that there was a link to another article labeled tin can. I couldn't believe that there is an entry in the wikipedia about tin cans! I guess when the aliens come, they can just access the wikipedia to learn about anything and everything.