Branson and Information Gathering

This weekend T and I went to Branson for a day of shopping and relaxation before our new arrival joins us. We drove up Friday and left the kids with with my Mom and Dad. This was my first trip to Branson and I was impressed. The outlet mall had two of my favorite clothing stores, Nike and Polo. I got several things for exercise and work and also got my watch fixed at the Fossil store. The kids made out very well as usual, getting lots of stuff for next winter.

The only attraction we visited was this morning. We went through the Titanic museum and I found it very interesting. While Titanic gets most of the historical coverage because of the crash, most of the pictures you see of the gigantic ship are actually of the "sister-ship", the Olympic. Only smaller by a few inches, it was built on the same plans as the Titanic and actually sailed for several years. If it was built on the same plans, how is it smaller? Makes you wonder doesn't it.

The last store we went to this morning before we left was Bath and Body Works. I was NOT happy to go in there as the smells are so strong that I can hardly stand walking in that place. T had to get some hand soap for our bathroom and I knew it was the last store of the trip so I went in. Once at the checkout counter, we paid our bill and before handing us the receipt, the clerk asked us, "do you have an e-mail address?" First, what kind of question is that? Everyone has email. Do you breathe? Do you sleep? 95% of America has email, probably multiple ones. Tia quickly responded that we didn't needed anything and we left to go.

I was floored. I couldn't believe that they would ask that question. Why would you give them that information so easily. However, as I was standing there a teenager at another check-out counter was giving her cutiepie43@yahoo.com address. HELLO! SPAM! Welcome to millions of emails telling you that you need to smell fruity! Why would you do this? I cannot stand companies sending me information about stuff they think I should have. If I want something, I will visit your store or website. If not, leave me alone.

Anyway, I was happy to be able to spend some time with T. We won't be able to do something like that again for a while. Time to head to bed. Sleep well.

Bison Basketball

Basketball has obviously been a passion of mine for most of my life. Now that I am only left with city league and pick-up basketball, I find myself becoming more and more just a fan. I love watching games on my TV, online viewing the stats, the radio, and most of all live. During the break I had the opportunity to Travel to Memphis and Southaven, Mississippi to watch Harding finish out the regular season and play in the conference championship game of the GSC tournament. I went with several great guys and the trip was very fun.

The guys played Christian Brothers University in both games, which has always provided entertaining games. They play a different style than Harding so the clash of styles makes for interesting discussion to and from the games. In a very brief recap, we lost both games. Their center is a long, smooth player that never really seems to move very quickly or play with a sense of urgency. He is a great rebounder and has a good defensive presence in the middle. The rest of the front line is strong and physical, often getting away with holds and pushes underneath. We played well in both games at times but their slow down style and good defensive rebounding limited our possessions.

Since we did not win the conference tournament, Christian Brothers received the automatic bid to the national tournament. Harding received a 6 seed in the 8 team South Region as an at-large team. We play Tampa later this week in the first round.

I was very proud to be a Bison following the game, even though we suffered the defeat. The commissioner of the GSC talked about both teams and their accomplishments but focused more on Harding. He spoke of the character of the coach, Jeff Morgan, and the players. He spoke of the great atmosphere of the Rhodes Fieldhouse and the Rhodes Rowdies. He spoke of the campus and the great people that are there. What a compliment! It feels very good to be a part of a university and a program that receives such accolades, even in defeat.

Of course I would love for Harding to go far in the tournament this year. I would love to see Matt Hall take this team further than we have ever gone and break a few more records along the way. However, I think that this season has been a success, no matter the outcome.

Geeky Shoes

Yesterday ended our "Spring Break" with yet another snow day. While the snow has mostly already melted this morning, it is still 33 degrees according to my Vista gadget. Today I have the kids while Tia and my Mom are off shopping together. The kids are watching some of Toy Story 2 before lunch. Rocky has been on a Buzz and Woody kick lately taking his little action figures everywhere with him. Last night Abi spent the night with Mom and Dad so Tia and I only had one child with us. It is amazing how easy it is with only one of them in tow. In about a month, we will have 3. Hurts the head a little bit. Anyway, we went to Hastings and found nothing worth renting and while Tia walked down to Bath and Body works to look for some hand lotion, I went in to Hibbetts Sports to get something that I was wanting for a long time. I recently got some new running shoes and now needed to get the final piece in order to start using them as they were intended. I purchased the Nike+iPod Sport Kit to go with my Nike+AirMAX180 shoes.

I have spent the morning setting up my account on the website and calibrating the sensor that is now in the shoe. It is really going to be pretty cool. Now I just have to get out and start pounding the pavement again. I have run with my iPod for a long time now and actually have a hard time running without it at this point. Hearing my size 14's hitting the ground and the wheezing coming from my body aren't the best noises to motivate you to trudge forward. If Tia gets home at a decent time this afternoon I am going to try and get my first 3 miles logged. I wonder if blogger has anything to sync with the Nike+ website so that I can post my progress here as well. If they don't, perhaps I can export the graph and then import it here or on Facebook. Either way, I have a new way to keep myself accountable and see how I am doing.

Time to make lunch for the kids...

Spring Break?

This week, the first week in March, is Harding's Spring Break. While almost half of the semester is over, this week has been anything but spring like. Saturday and Sunday topped out at 70 degrees and I thought I was going to be getting in a LOT of golf this week. Monday, it rained all day. Not just a little drizzle. It RAINED. I did read some of a new database book I got, I know geeky, but that was not what I had planned for my Spring Break. As if it couldn't get any worse, Tuesday it snowed most of the morning. This the 4th of March! The kids loved it of course, but golf was looking to be more out of the question. While we got about 2 inches of snow, but the evening most of the snow was gone. Today was again a new day. It ended up being about 60 degrees and I got out and played 9 holes. I actually played pretty well considering there were several soggy spots in each fairway.

The rest of the week should be productive. This morning I spent with the kids while Tia ran errands and then clean and organized the garage before playing golf. Tomorrow I will get some more cleaning and personal things done. I have to go pick up my mom from the airport as she has been in California all week.

My workouts have been going poorly these past few weeks. I have a good plan set up, but I haven't been able to get the discipline in my system to get out and get it done. My shoulder finally is pain free for the first time in a couple months, even when swinging a golf club so I feel like now is the time to start getting in the weight room again.

All in all, a pretty basic entry, but this week has been very relaxing. I should, and will, get a couple of more technical and other things entered before heading back to work.