West Alexandria Halloween Parade - 2008

Dayton is in Denial

From WHIOTV.com

Local Leaders Say Dayton Isn't Dead

Click here to read the story. I am unable to publish the story here, but it's another example arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as its sinking.

This is quite comical when you really look at it. First off, Wright Patterson Air Force Base is in Fairborn, Greene County. The people moving to the area to work there that have school age children would NEVER send their child to the City of Dayton School system.

Second, we dont need political leaders forming partnerships to help the community grow. It is these same political leaders who have driven business out of the local area, caused taxes to increase on the small business owner making it very undesirable to do business in the city.

Third, the city infrastructure is a disaster and is laying off people left and right due to budget issues.

I hope Dayton can turn itself around. But this kind of propaganda from the local leadership shows what a pathetic, fluff job they are trying to sell. I'm surprised the Mayor hasn't talked about all of the new Amway Distributors now in the area and how they will have an impact on the local economy.

More Geeky Goodness

Ubuntu Screen Shot (click photo to enlarge). How cool is that?!!!! Notice the 2 Audio Magazine downloads from Whole Wheat Radio on the left side of the screen. Jim Bob, you were the first sound file played on my new set up.

I Don't Do Windows

Spent Saturday night doing something that has made me tremendously happy. I got Windows totally off my main PC and installed Ubuntu 8.10. I have long said it's time to stop paying "The Bill" and even though I haven't bought a copy of Windows for years (my Macs serve me quite well) I decided to stop using Windows at home on any of my machines. We have two machines still running Windows (Dana's & Kyle's) and Dana has told me when her machine needs to be replaced, let's get her a Mac as well. Oh, I do love her so.

Ubuntu installed quite easily and the administration set up was a breeze. My old Pentium 4 flys running it compated to Windows. Had to tweak a few settings for sound to work right, but again, took maybe 2 minutes to correct. Hey, I enjoy using my old Compaq machine again.

See the dorky screen shots of it installing and updating OpenOffice.org.

Breast Cancer Prevention Walk

Dana and I spent this past Saturday morning in Downtown Dayton for the yearly Breast Cancer Prevention Walk. It was another great turnout, and we will walk each year until they find a cure.

Octoberfest Parade

Photos of Kyle and his friend Joseph at the annual Octoberfest Parade here in town. Kyle switched to Baritone horn this year since the school had too many trumpet players. Joseph switched from Baritone to Tuba.

We Have Access To The Outside World

It's been a long time since my last post, but we just got our internet connection back on after the windstorm that the Miami Valley area suffered on September 14th. We had a lot of damage to trees and were without power for 3 days. But, thankfully no one was hurt and the tree limbs didn't come crashing through the house. Some 35,000 people in the area are still without power.

We watch very little television in the big scheme of things and get most of our news through the internet. Not having access has been really tough for us (OK, I know I just mentioned that some folks don't have power yet) especially when we pay all of our bills online, do a lot of our shopping, and use email to communicate with other family members.

On the plus side, I did get a BLUE Microphones Snowball to get serious about Podcasting this week-end. I'm still playing around with it, but the sound is great. I am working on a Podcasting endeavor that should be quite fun.

Hello Mommy!

Dana is visiting family in Arizona with her father and the dogs wanted to tell her good morning.

Me as a Manga Chracter

From the Face Your Manga site. A little scary if you ask me.

Bring Your Child To Work Day...

Just a few of the proud parents in our office that brought their children in to see what The Berry Company is all about and what we do.

My Dad The Hell Raiser

My dad gave me a copy of this photo the other day, and I'm so glad he did. It was probably taken in 1949 or 1950 at their farm in South Charleston, OH on his Whizzer motorbike. Dad's on the left, my uncle Johnny is on the right.

Dad used to tell me how much he enjoyed riding this motorized bike in his day. It had a sturdy frame and over-sized tires to handle the higher speeds. He estimated it went anywhere from 50-60MPH once it was wound out. I can just see him now flying down a country road somewhere with a big smile on his face (back then he probably had a cigarette in his mouth as well).

Thanks for giving me this photo dad, it means the world to me!

Another Week-End Comes To A Close

Dana and I have to keep asking ourselves, "Where has the week-end gone?" each Sunday evening. We have never had so much going on at one time and trying to get things done. don't get me wrong, we're having a blast, but we need at least 1 extra day to fit everything in that we need to do.

We spent Saturday with Dana's Aunt Faye in Fort Mitchell, KY. She hasn't been feeling the best so we went down to see her and take her out to lunch. Faye is one of those people that you just can't help enjoying yourself around. She has about the best sense of humor that I know of. We got to see her daughters, Janet & Donna, as well as her grand daughter Stacey, and great grand daughter Mikayla (in the photo with Faye reading to her). The only bad part about the trip was the heat.

My new job is going GREAT! I absolutely love what I am doing. As I look at the state of real estate, and all of the For Sale By Owner signs going up, it's nice to be in a job where I am actually getting paid for the work I am doing. I am surprised at the number of FSBO signs that go up AFTER a Realtor has had a listing and it has expired. I know of 4 such instances in our small town. I do think the future for real estate agents is weakening. Models like Redfin will be the wave of the future, not the exception. People are tired of forking over huge commissions to agents when they see how little most of them work. OK, I'm off the soap box!

New Mac Daddy

My dad just celebrated his 73rd Birthday on the 25th, and treated himself to a new computer. After hearing me rave about Macs for so long, he finally broke down and got one of his own. Needless to say, he's a happy camper. We had to drive to the Apple Store in Cincinnati to find the Mac mini, everyone in the Dayton area was sold out of them. It looks great on the 20" monitor we got him for Christmas. So much nicer than Windows!!!

I Love Photo Booth

My Mac makes me so much more productive that I've had time to try and clone myself.

I know I haven't posted...

...but between work and doing things around the house, I have been too tired to do much of anything. My idea of a good night is to be in bed by 10:00.

I have been pressure washing the deck the past few days (with Kyle's help) and it's taking more time than I thought. But, it's worth the effort if you can see how good it looks.

If you are a frequent reader of Guy Kawasaki's BLOG, you know he just hosted a get together at his home for BlogHer which looks like it was a lot of fun. Hey Guy, come on, when am I going to get an invite to your home? Seriously, click on the link and check out the photos. Looks like it was a lot of fun.

New Toy

OK, it wasn't the most prudent financial decision, but you have to enjoy life for yourself once in a while. Dana and I were shopping Saturday, and Guitar Center was having their huge pre-4th of July sale from 9:00 pm until midnight. After talking to the sales rep, he agreed to get me the price I wanted without having to wait until later that night, so here it is:

1961 Epiphone Custom Shop SG re-issue in Alpine White. I lowered the action a little when I got it home, and it plays like a dream. No fret rattle, very responsive, and the pickups are scorching hot! I can't get over how light it is compared to my Les Paul Standard. Now I know why Angus Young loves these guitars. (click photo to enlarge)

Some Happy News

For those of you who don't have contact with me each day, I must apologize for not letting you know that I have a new job. I'm an Account Executive with The Berry Company. For those of you unfamiliar with The Berry Company, it's the company that started the Yellow Pages, and was founded in 1910 by LM Berry right here in Dayton, OH. I think some people forget that Dayton was the Silicon Valley of the country almost 100 years ago. How many of you knew that Thomas Watson Sr. started his career at NCR as a salesman and lived in Dayton for many years before moving to IBM in 1914 and turning it into a punch card powerhouse before handing it over to his son, Tom Jr, who turned it into the mainframe computer giant? It's true.

I'm working with print and digital media sales, and so far I love it. My class is in training for approx. 16 weeks, and I look forward to going to work each day (I know, tell you how I feel a year or two from now). My background in technology and the printing industry is serving me well. It's directional media at it's best, and talk about the ultimate Permissions based marketing solution.

I haven't given up on real estate, but things are just dead all over. The housing crisis has caused a lot of problems all over the country, and slowed home sales to a death march. I was tired of working and not getting paid, on top of all the fees that are involved with being a Realtor. It's insane, and yes, I know many Realtors contributed to this situation.

I've included some photos of my new digs, and the view we have from the training room. We will get our office assignments once we are out of training and added to the existing sales teams.

Sad Anniversary

A year ago today I lost my Mom to liver cancer and it's been a tough week for all of us. It seems like yesterday, and it also seems like 10 years ago.

This was the last photo I took of her shortly before she passed.

I miss you Mom, and I love you!

Fishing Trip - June 21st, 2008

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