Owen and The Kitchen

Owen Video of hime goofing around at dinner:

Owen Video

We also did an upgrade to the kitchen by replacing our crappy white counter tops with new beautiful granite ones. Check out the pics below:


We still have a few things to do to the kitchen before we are satisfied including new paint, new appliances, except the fridge, and new lighting over the island. All in due time.

Nana & Papa Are Coming, Nana & Papa Are Coming!

Nana and Papa Riker are coming to Cincinnati for a few days to hopefully watch their grandson Owen take his first steps around the house by himself. I am sure this will be another proud moment for him when it does happen. It seems like when ever he does something important for the first time he instantly recognizes his achievement. The smile that comes across his face is hilarious because he is so damn proud of himself. It's the little things right?

What else...

Wendy has been busy as heck with her Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean projects. I think maybe I should get one of those magnet's for the side of the Big Red Beast that says "OWEN TRANSPORT". That would be funny I think, sort of, well, maybe.

I guess the other big news is that we are replacing the counter tops in our kitchen with granite. That's right, we don't mess around. I cannot wait til that is done, it should look amazing I believe.

I hope all is well in the hinterlands and I will talk to everyone soon.

Wendy in Germany, SU Stinks!

For those of you that do not know, my wife is in Germany for training. Frankfurt to be exact. She could have waited 6 months to take the training in Cincinnati but her superiors wanted her to go much sooner. If you have any requests please let me know. I have requested a Schalke 04 jersey which, is a football team from Gelsenkirchen.

In lieu of Wendy being in Germany Sam and Dora have come down from the Great Land to help me out for a few days. Last night we went to Sichuan Bistro for dinner and you would have thought Owen had not eaten in days. We put all kinds of food in front of him and most, apart from the food that ended up on the floor, ended up in his belly. The kid can eat.

SU football, I don't even know why I am talking about it. I bet Mike Tirico wishes his alma mater were much better. I wonder what kind of schtick he gets from his peers. Anyway, they are 0-3 for the first time in 21 years and have only scored 34 points in 3 games. Pathetic.

I told everyone I knew that Greg Robinson should NOT have been hired but the AD was worried about plucking someone from a very successful USC team and it looking like he was biased. What the heck, are you serious? That is exactly what we want. We want a good coach and who can get the most out of his players! I wanted SU to hire Norm Chow but no, we get Greg Robinson instead. I normally say you should give a coach 4 years but in this case I will happily make an exception.

Flickr

Got an email from Flickr today concerning my new account and the new limits and restrictions that will be imposed once my free Pro trial ends. What a bunch of crap. Instead of this service being much like Yahoo photos they are deciding to charge for those same services we received for free from Yahoo prior to the switch.

So just to warn all of my friends and family, as of November 9th there will be some limitations according to sucky ass Flickr. You will only be able to see small photos and the last 200 that we have uploaded to Flickr; among other things. Why not just leave the service the way it was instead of charging for it?

This feels like buying a car. If you had power windows and locks and you want to buy a new car there is no way in hell you will get a new car without those amenities. Now you know why car dealers add weird features to the cars they have on the lot. If you get a car with some goofy feature you never had before chances are when you buy your next car you will order that feature.

Anyway, I digress. I will be looking into Google Photos more closely now I think. Tell all your friends Flickr sucks!

NJ and Other Things

Just got back from Princeton, NJ and I miss my family severely. When you grow up in a great family I don't think you realize what you have until you are away from them for a long time. This weekend was one of those times where I tried to cherish every single moment that happened over the course of 4 days. Pictures on our Flickr site will be coming soon.

Yesterday I read an article in the NY Times that was talking about Newark airport as the king of New York City airport delays. On average planes can depart anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple of hours late. My sister says "I wouldn't worry about that, most planes are on time it's only a few that skew the departure times." Wouldn't you know that our plane took off 75 minutes late yesterday.

Another interesting thing about this weekend was the fact that I had no idea I got to meet one of the foremost conservative minds in our country, Robert P. George. He is on Bush's bioethics committee and is a professor at Princeton University. What do you think we talked about most of the time? College football and baseball. My father and Robbie reliving their youth talking about all of the great baseball teams they saw while growing up.

Lastly, here is to Lisa and Bob for planning such a wonderful weekend. It is always a joyous occasion when the family can get together and celebrate just a little bit.

Brown Dog Cafe

I know our anniversary is still a couple of days away but we decided to celebrate a few days early. A busy week is ahead culminating with a trip to NJ for some partying. Due to this we went to Brown Dog Cafe on Friday night and it was splendid.

We started with a couple of appetizers, a crab and lobster spring roll and a fancy take on a Mexican salad with beef. For dinner Wendy had lamb and I had duck and they were both magnificent. To finish some key lime pie and coffee. All in all we rate the "Dog" DTU, double thumbs up. A link to this wonderful restaurant is below.

Brown Dog Cafe

All in all it has been a weekend of great food because last night we went to Dewey's. Regarded as one of the best pizza places in town. They serve all kinds of wacky pizza including one that is called Edgar Allen Poe. A link to Dewey's is below.

Dewey's Pizza

Only 5 more days til we are in NJ and we can't wait. That is all for now.

Upbeat Casual

What is upbeat casual anyway? My sister says that on Saturday, during her 5th anniversary function, we can wear upbeat casual clothing. I think one could surmise that depending on where you live that could mean completely different things. Lisa thought that folks only in places like New York or Chicago would have a clue. I will refer back to my wedding for a Cincinnati example but there is one caveat. There is a huge discrepancy as to how one dresses depending on if you reside on the east or west side of town.

We asked for Black Tie Optional hoping that people would wear at least suits and nice dresses and not the typical hill billy wear that I have seen at many a Cincinnati wedding. Fortunately for us we succeeded but for a couple of cases. Most of our friends are like us and are socially astute and wore appropriate attire. We did however have a couple of people wear khakis and a collared shirt which in my mind is not wedding appropriate if Black Tie Optional is requested. The people wearing said clothing were locals so as we all know, it is all relative.

My brother says you would not want to ask for upbeat casual in Rapid City. To be honest, I am not sure in Sodus the upbeat casual attire would be any better. Regardless I am going to wear some slacks and a nice shirt; most likely a button down. Hopefully that will suffice on my sister's 5th anniversary.

Birthday Parties and Summer Heat

We had a birthday bash for my son Owen on Saturday. We had 6 kids in the house under the age of 4, only 2 of which could not walk. It was entertainment to say the least and some would call it birth control. All in all it was good time but in some regard I am glad it's over.

Below is a picture of Owen eating his birthday cake:

Below is a picture of Owen opening his presents:

Humans as Lima Beans?

According to many scientists humans are regarded as lima beans by great white sharks. So I ask, why are we so afraid of them? Check out the video below:

Great White Shark Video

Tonight is golf night and it's supposed to 100 today. I can't wait, it will be so much fun!

Heat Advisory

Some people are getting rained on every day, some people get no rain and their lawns die. Below is a picture of my back yard and as you can see someone has built a pyramid back there. It is amazing what happens when you are not looking.

What else is going on... Owen turns 1 in 13 days which is pretty exciting. I see that my John and Patri survived Maia's birthday so hopefully we can do the same. We have planned a party on the 11th which coincides with the start of the English Premier League season.

I am also fortunate to be assigned to the SAP project here at work. SAP stands for Systeme, Anwendungen und Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung ("Systems, Applications and Products in Data Processing"). Yes, that is German if you are wondering. This project is huge for our organization in trying to modernize our systems to the 21st century. This is no small task because we are upgrading from 20 year old technology. In IT terms that is like going from a Model T to a Ferrari Modena 360.

Golf is Not Great!

My scorecard from last night: par, par, triple, bogey, triple, bogey, bogey, birdie, par. In numbers that is: 5, 3, 7, 4, 7, 4, 5, 3, 5 which totals 43. That is terrible for me but I know I should not complain since most golfers only dream of such scores.

Weather note: IT IS HOT!! Supposed to be 96 in Cincinnati today with humidity of 100000%. I know I should not complain about that either since J, P & M are dealing with sun like temperatures in Rapid City.

I hope all is well in the four corners of our great nation. I can't wait to see everyone in 4 short weeks! That is all for now...

Golf is Great

Played golf last night, shot 37. 6 pars, 1 birdie and 2 bogies. Both bogies were avoidable too. My putting can be so horrible sometimes I think it drives my partner to drink. If I could just putt in an adequate manner I could have been -1 or -2 easily.

Owen is doing well these days, crawling all over like a crazy man. He really likes it and is always excited to move about our lovely home. For those of you concerned about Rocky he also is doing well.

The Democrat Debate

If you missed it the Democrats did a debate last night and answered questions via You Tube. What a novel idea, trying to answer questions straight from John Q. Public. The thing that is frustrating is how every candidate, in some cases, talked about policy rather than answering the question.

Politics. I wish I could make a wish, like Jim Carrey's son in Liar Liar, to have everyone tell the blatant truth for a whole debate. That would be truly amazing. Below is the link to the transcript of the debate.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-07-19-debate-transcript_N.htm

I am not a registered Democrat but if I were, I would vote for John Edwards. Much of what is in this transcript says why I would vote this way. Look at the answers, look who is talking common sense vs. doing the circle route on the questions. I hope lots of people agree with me, it would do this country a lot of good.

My Brother is Home!!

For those that don't know my brother has returned from his deployment in the Middle East. Anyone who reads this send your love and best wishes to Patri, John and Maia!!

My Clock is on Military Time

In observance of my brother being deployed my clock was switched to Military Time, or the 24 hour clock.

Immigration: Illegal or Otherwise

I ran across an article on the CNN website about immigration which, is a touchy subject in this country right now. I know some people just want to kick all illegals out and I know some people that say give them amnesty. Both are impractical for a multitude of reasons that don't need to be discussed here.

I just wanted to give everyone an idea of one example as to why people who are willing to work for lower wages helps our economy. One person interviewed for the article said he was willing to pick lettuce for $52,000 a year. Granted this is in California but, that is roughly the same amount an average family of 4 makes in the whole U.S. of A.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/16/navarrette/index.html

Too Many Birthdays!

Wendy and I have decided that there are way too many Riker associated birthdays in the summer. I will gladly take another month if it will help lighten the load. Maybe I can pick March, not much going on then is there?

US and Columbia

The US lost, again, to Columbia this time 1-0. The following headline pretty much says it all: Colombia 1-0 U.S: U.S. finishes tourney winless.

US and Paraguay

The US lost again last night, this time to Paraguay. The final tally was 3-1 which was not a good reflection of the game. The US actually dominated proceedings but could never get that second goal they desperately needed. Unless a miracle happens the Copa America for the US is effectively over.

Tonight we head to Milwaukee for our yearly July 4th pilgrimage to the "Good Land". Rocky has been hanging out in Milwaukee this whole time on vacation. I wonder how fat and happy he will be when we get there. Something tells me I will have to play ball a lot to get him back in shape.

If anyone else is travelling this week please be careful as always, the roads get a little wacky this time of year. Chicago should be filled with heart stopping splendor, I can't wait.

Rabid Fans and Voter Turnout

I was asked if I knew how well Americans turned out for elections. 2004 was the highest ever since 1968, at 64%, based a small bit of research. This is based on a percentage of registered voters. In total, if you count registered and non-registered voters above the age of 18, it's 55.3%.

As a side note all 3 elections in the 60s had over 60% turnout of all people over the age of 18. Registration data for the given period is not accurate due to many states not having their registrations properly counted. Regardless no where near the 80% Patri is talking about

Lisa and Patri have brought to note that they feel it is disturbing that some country's fans are so rabid. Lisa pointed out that many in Argentina feel as if it is a reflection on their economy. If it is doing poorly people act in a more liberal way and vice versa if the economy is doing well. On the outside looking in it appears they are crazy all of the time.

We did have one extraordinary event happen on the Owen front. Owen pulled himself up for the first time at approximately 8:30 PM on Saturday night. He was able to get himself up on a plastic picnic table that the Donoghue's own. We were of course at a party and Owen was not tired enough to sleep until after 11 I believe. The party animal lives on!!

Man I love the internet, check out this blog for knitters!!! I was just farting around clicking Next Blog and I came across this---> http://chrissythegreat.blogspot.com/