Sunday, April 10, 2011

Elaine and I went to Niagara Falls

Needing a little R & R after the tough winter, Elaine and I took a long weekend, drove five hours, and went to Niagara Falls. We stayed at the Hilton on the Canadian side and had a wonderful trip.
We could not wait to see the Falls, so on the first day, we walked through the Casino, along the path walkway, and took the cable car down to the Falls building.
Out the other side of the Falls Building was the magnificent Niagara Falls. Pictures do not do it justice in terms of the grandeur and splendor, but here are a few, nonetheless.
This was our first view of the Falls and it was breathtaking. The excitement and exhilaration that we both felt was very much akin to the best of my scuba diving adventures. I mean the adrenaline was pumping in both of us. You do not get to see the whole Falls at once as there is this constant mist. Here is the very brink of the falls where it falls over the edge 176 feet down.
It was very cold here at the brink of the falls. The cold and wind was unbelievable and my face chapped in moments. There was this mist and spray from the water shooting up, so I could only stay here for a few minutes at a time. My camera lens were getting misted up right from the start and I had to constantly wipe them, shoot quickly, and wipe again.
Niagara means "Thundering Waters" and the roar here was just unreal. Truly a remarkable experience.

Saturday, April 02, 2011

Review of Ron White Show

Elaine and I went to the Canton Palace Theater last night, April Fools Day, to watch comedian Ron White.

This was our first trip to the Palace Theater and we were looking forward to it as Aaron (or Matt as some of you(?) may know him) has worked their since November. Aaron was very busy working in the box office, so we just gave him a quick wave hi, but did not get to talk to him. Aaron was very excited about the show as Ron White is a big name A list comedian, so it was kind of a combination of Aaron working there, a big name coming in, and just a Friday night out after a long winter of being cooped up as to why we went.

As for the Canton Palace Theater, it is a beautiful old style grand opera house type theater from another era, beautifully preserved with the ghosts, light, and ambiance of other days gone by. It was a real thrill for us to meet with Georgia Paxos, Aaron's boss. Very nice lady and she runs a good operation there.

As you can see from the ticket, the performance was for mature audiences. We had watched Ron White several times on Comedy Central and he was funny with his unique take on things, life, and events. I knew about his trademark scotch drinking and cigar smoking. Also, I knew that he was raw (is that the polite term for dirty, filthy, potty mouth, obscene, trash talking, explicit, etc., etc., and, of course, etc.?), but I did not know that he was that raw. Hmmm, Comedy Central must do the editing on most of that. Not to say he wasn't funny or we did not laugh, but I was not expecting the degree of the off-color rhetoric, which was extensive. I know, I know, I should have known, but I have never in my life heard such explicit and crude language and jokes like that. Well, okay, maybe around my sixth grade lunch table.

Oh, there was an incident, too. Ron was about ten minutes into the show and did make mention and a joke of a lady who was holding up a homemade sign in the first row, directly in front of him. At first I thought she was a plant or a shill. Another few minutes and Ron walked away from the microphone, bent down to face her, and let go with an angry profanity filled rebuke. Sounded like she was either talking to those around her or was trying to talk to him while he was performing. The jist of the tirade was that he could not allow her to be distracting to the other fifteen hundred people who had paid to see him perform. Right on, right on. He said that he tried to warn her, but things were already in motion that he had no control over. A few seconds later, three security officers escorted her and her friend from the premises with mixed response from the audience. The show went on, but Ron did express remorse about the incident towards the end of the show.

This was as close as we got to see him. He was in his bus before the show getting a manicure and a pedicure. No, I'm serious. I met a co-worker for Aaron's (sorry, I can't remember your name, but it was nice meeting you) outside the bus who sounded like she was Ron's Official Gopher. She said that Ron had called her from his cellphone to get someone right away for a mani and pedi. So she did.

I don't think Ron travels from Los Angeles in this bus, even though I am sure it is luxorious. He has his own private jet (Ron White Air, I believe), which he probably flies to geographic locations where he is met by the bus and tours in the vicinity, then flies back home.

Elaine and I got there way early so we could get a good parking spot and eat. Actually, we were able to park right across the street and got right out of town when the show was over. We had about an hour before showtime, so we went to The Brownstone, which was a bistro, bar, and grill across from the Palace. Very nice place and we had the lasagna and I had peanut butter pie.

On the whole, it was a somewhat adventurous evening out. If you are a Ron White fan, you will enjoy the show, not to say that we did not, but we enjoy clean humor more. We are looking forward to attending more shows at the Canton Palace Theater.

I would rate Ron White at **1/2. (I would have given higher if he was cleaner)
I would rate The Brownstone at ***.
I would rate The Canton Palace Theater at ****. (I apologize for the bias)


Friday, April 01, 2011

Here's What the Twin Babies are Saying

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Ron White Show April Fools Day

Elaine and I will be going to see comedian Ron White at the Canton Palace Theater tomorrow.

Jokes.com
Ron White - No Dogs
comedians.comedycentral.com
Ron White BiographyJokesJoke of the Day

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Elaine's Birthday 2011

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Disney's "Up" House Really Flies


Good by Mr. Fredrickson and Russell

Monday, March 07, 2011

Elaine's New Car


2011 Dodge Journey Mainstreet AWD

Monday, February 28, 2011

Frank Buckles Passed Away

America's last surviving World War I veteran. He died February 27, 2011 at 110 years of age. My condolences to his family in this time of sorrow. These are Library of Congress photos of him. According to Wikipedia, there are two surviving veterans of World War I left.


Sunday, February 27, 2011

The Life Flight Helicopter

Elaine and I went to Buehler's in Dover and we saw the helicopter land. The Dover Emergency Squad was waiting for it and they took someone away.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Happy Birthday Marshall

Ryan in North Carolina

Ryan went to the ocean to spend a few days with her friends. She called last night and is having a lovely time. She flies back home today.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Star Wars Re-Enactment Scene in Reign of Fire


I saw this movie a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and kind of forgot about it. Just happened to catch this part of the movie last night and it is a highly creative scene and probably the best part of the movie. Watch the kids react, they are priceless.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Man in the Muffin



Elaine made muffins last night and this one reminded me of the Man in the Moon.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Eve 2010










Thursday, December 23, 2010

Ryan Interviews Santa at the Airport


Santa is correct. Area Code 99705 is for North Pole, Alaska.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

In Case You Missed It Last Night

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Merry Christmas


From these beautiful young children at First Baptist Church.

Monday, December 06, 2010

Pearl Harbor Day

This is a very different Pearl Harbor Day than any in my life as my father passed away August 7. Every year and later on in life, when his health allowed him, he participated in the local Pearl Harbor Day commemorative events and I would always call him in the evening to see how his day went. I will think of him often today. God bless all our veterans and once again, it is time to honor those who served at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. May we never forget.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010









Thursday, November 25, 2010

Monday, November 01, 2010

Robin Swoboda Show at Akron Canton Airport



 

Kristie gave Ryan a shout-out towards the end for their Social Media management. We are so proud of her.

Friday, October 29, 2010

The Employment Source Halloween Friday

Monday, October 25, 2010

Review of Directv



Here I am a displaced Steelers fan. Up to two years ago, Elaine, Aaron, and I would have to make an occasional Sunday lunch to Damon's Restaurant to watch the Steelers game. The conflicts with the Browns games were not that many times. That all changed two years ago when Time Warner Cable took WTRF Channel 7 in Weirton West Virginia off their line-up as WTRF was in the Pittsburgh market and we were in the Cleveland market. Last year, I probably had to go to Damon's about 10 to 12 times to watch the games as there was all these schedule conflict times with the Browns games.

It started off that way again this year. Now over the years, anytime I had conversation with Time Warner Customer Service, which was some times, I would let them know that I was very unhappy with them taking Channel 7 off and not having the NFL Network, which broadcast some late year games on Thursday and Saturday nights. All they would do was give me their position on why they did this, but that did not help me.

So, I see that Directv is offering free NFL Sunday Ticket, which broadcasts all the games, including the Steeler games and they have the NFL Network as part of their programming. The NFL Ticket normally costs hundreds of dollars, so Elaine and I talked about it, and we made the switch.

You know what? We like it. This past Sunday was the first fruits of the switch as the local channels have the Browns game and, to make things worse, Damon's closed and I would have had to dig around to find another location to watch the game. It was nice sitting at home, in my home theater room with big screen HD TV and surround sound speakers, in my comfy chair, watching the game. Elaine and I agree that the picture quality is better, there is more programming to choose from, and the remote and receiver box are simpler than Time Warner Cable. So far, we are happy with our choice. Do I recommend it for everyone? After two weeks I do, but time will tell.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

ESPN Mark Schlereth on James Harrison

Couldn't have said it better myself

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Twenty-Five Year Tribute to Back to The Future


and, the original

Monday, September 27, 2010

Geekiest Thing I Ever Did II

Ryan's laptop wasn't working, so I took a look at it. It would start to power on, stop, start to power on, stop, start to power on, etc. Looking around on the Wide World of Web, it seemed like the motherboard was the problem. I could not locate any replacement motherboards for her four year old model, but I did find a possible solution at this website:


It said that there is a chip on the board that works loose and the problem is common to this type of computer. A possible solution is to take the motherboard out and bake it in the oven for eight minutes at 385 degrees. This will re-flow the solder and attach the chip again when it cools. (Note: kids, do not try this at home.) With nothing to loose, I disassembled the computer:


and baked the motherboard.

I put it back together, all the time thinking, this is never going to work. Then, I did something stupid. I was putting the screws in on the bottom and without thinking, I put the battery back in. I flipped it over and connected the laptop screen cable to the innerworkings, but I still had to attach the screen to the laptop, when I accidentally hit the power button.

The laptop started booting up and I thought, well, let's see what happens. Lo and behold, it went right to Windows XP for the first time in who knows how long. Well, I turned it off, finished hooking and connecting everything, and booted it up again. It came on again and looks like it's going to be okay. Wow, never thought I could do something like that. Learn something new everyday.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Cedar Point Labor Day 2010

Elaine and I took the holiday weekend and went to Sandusky Ohio and to Cedar Point, The Amazement Park. We did not ride this.
No one can beat Elaine with the water pistol game at the Midway

End of a long fun day


Monday, August 30, 2010

Belize Shark Dive

This is the final video from our vacation and I made a mini-documentary out of it with narration and music. I dove the Esmeralda dive site towards San Pedro on Ambergris Caye. This was a great dive with the nurse sharks, moray eel, sting ray, and sea turtle. Enjoy.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Elaine and I At the Akron Zoo

Penguins are cool
These are Asian Carp Fish, they look like huge mutant gold fish
Llama or alpaca
Komodo dragon sure is an ugly cuss
Symbol of our country, the bald eagle

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Marshall's Flower Garden





Monday, August 23, 2010

Greek Festival in Canton

Saturday, Elaine, Ryan, Brian, and Aaron went to the the Canton Greek Festival at the Civic Center. The food, entertainment, and atmosphere was wonderful and it brought back many, many pleasant memories for Elaine.


Saturday, August 21, 2010

Email and Photos From Our Friend Pheng

We took a look at your videos on your blog and thought they were awesome! We enjoyed our time in Belize and saw that you also enjoyed yours. We just thought of you guys and decided to send you some snapshots we got from Belize and if you could please forward them to Lois also. We miss everyone and hope all is well!





Sunday, August 08, 2010

My Father Passed Away Friday August 6, 2010

My father's 88th birthday was July 23. I went to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania to see him the week before he died as he had fallen down and broke his ankle. In talking to my mother, she said the he did not seem right for the past few weeks. I had never seen my father like this before, he seemed very confused and disoriented, whereas he was always very sharp. My brother Dave called me Friday night to say that he had passed away. The funeral service is in New Kensington, Pa. tomorrow, Monday. Please pray for my mother. They were married for fifty-six years, I believe.

I am not going to eulogize my father here. Let me just say that my father is the greatest man that I have ever known. He took care of his wife, and his children, family, and anyone else that he could help along the way. He owned his jewelry store business in Tarentum for forty-three years. I am in my twenty-sixth year, so he set the bar very high.

I will close this brief account on two notes. First, my father was always there, always there for me, and now he is not. I have lost the main foundation for my life.

Two, my father was a World War II hero. First, the Civil War Veterans are all gone. Next, according to a Google search, there are four surviving World War I Veterans. Lastly, there over two million World War II Veterans still alive, around the world. Fortunately, several years ago, Aaron, Richard, and I recorded his testimony of December 7, 1941. This was pleasing to him that his story would live on beyond him. Again, please pray for my mother as you watch and listen to him describe the incredible day that he lived through in the event that got the United States into World War II. John Chatterton, who was written about in the book Shadow Divers, emailed me after watching the video and said, "Living history like this needs to be preserved."

Monday, August 02, 2010

Incredible Underwater Ambergris Caye HD Video











Biker Sunday 2010 at First Baptist Church

Grace painted this beautiful image in a few minutes, just like she did last year.