refu-kinglax

Fender Bender with 4 cars - everybody unhurt.

2009-04-25T05:41:00.000-07:00

Last night we were involved in a four car Fender Bender, it was not my fault we were the victims. As our car sits outside with some pretty big damage I am sure our neighbours are driving by wondering what kind of driving accident I perpetrated. The fact is we were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

At work there were tickets for the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs Baseball game - Yes Jimmy Baseball! I said I would take them in the senario when there were no takers. There were no takers and I got 4 tickets. Quickly call Jill and have here make dinner quicker than usual on a Friday evening. Come home have Jerk Chicken on a stick with Jambalaya rice and get ready to go. The weather was lovely 75/23 degrees and warm. In the game the Ironpigs won handily and it was a great way to start the weekend with fireworks to finish the night...Well not exactly to finish the night.

We had been at a game for the first time 9 days before when it was colder, it was wednesday and the attendance was considerably less. So last night had 9,984 attendance I remember this because I thought with only 16 more people it would 10,000 exactly. Leaving the parking lot was crazy with inching and more inching. We ended up behind some idiot teenagers driving rich Daddys car. They had arms out the window trying to be cool. We watched them accelerate and speed away in the Acura. Dicks!!!

We had been driving for about 5 minutes when the fender bender happened. Traffic slowed to a stop at a red light we came to a stop and with so many cars in a small area I looked in my rear view mirror to ensure the person behind had stopped safely. There must have been a period of 6 or 7 seconds where we were waiting to move again and then we heard it. Screaching of tyres which appeared to be a long way back and then a loud bang. Barely a second later we were hit from behind hard and launched forward into a jeep, Apparently I exclaimed and expletive F***!

Immediately I was thinking I dont want to be involved in this and that whoever did this would drive away. Without any clear idea of what happened I got out and asked the girl who hit into me if she was ok and if she was the one responsible, at that point a guy came from the sidewalk and said it was him. He was extremely nice about it and very apologethic. He had hit the girl behind us and she hit into us and then we got pushed into the jeep in front of us. Waiting for the cop to come file report and after much waiting we were able to drive home and now we have neighbours walking by and looking and thinking I made a mistake as you would think that. When we got home we called our insurance company and the lady was very nice too. So now we wait for the assessor to come and have all this fixed. Its a pain in the arse, but shit happens and everyone was unhurt. I now have a headache.

We are Y members now! u know?

2009-01-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

Well over the weekend we joined the YMCA a local place where you go to have a fitter outlook on life. We opted to join for just the three months and then have Palmer Pool do its thing for us through the summer. Its mainly the attraction of the pool in the Y that motivates us to join. For the three of us its 85 for first time to join and 60 each month for the three months. We dont yet know how Marc is going to take to it. Monday evening we go for the first time, For myself I feel like I have infiltrated some exclusive club and the feeling of being fresh meat is very apparent. The parking lot is filled to brimming point and Jill and Marc get out to sort out any remaining member details. I park far away-its the best I could do and walk in...grand everythings set and on we go to the pool and break the aura of new faces. Its like the reverse goldfish bowl and everyone is looking.

tbc

Blogger Shame brings me back from the brink of wintry laziness.

2009-01-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Wow, thats a very large and pretentious title, but I am a big believer of blogging spontaneously. I have at last awakened from my slumber that covers the period over Christmas and New Years. There is so much to say, as one could imagine over the period of time that I have been sabatical a lot has happened. As a group we have successfully negotiated the Christmas period in which I was back in Ireland with Jill and Marc back home and me arriving back just before the new years. I am now a year older but still not evidently any wiser and we still have the cold weather and surprisingly for the time of year to date we have already had too much snow. Its only the end of January and the winter doesn't move into full throtle until the next month or March.
This morning we awake to as forecast 3 inches (Easily!) of the white stuff. Grand...now I can have a good reason for justifying buying a Subaru. We have biscuits or scones as they may be known in Europe for breakfast. Very nice but take some time to butter and jam them, each time Marc waiting for his next one-pressure. Then out into the quiet white landscape. The one thing I love about snow now that I can finally call myself an adult, is the tranquility and silence of the landscape covered in snow. If you could hear a pin dropping on snow you would and it would be loud. The world seems to slow down when it snows everything moves at a snails pace and you get this crazy feeling that you are the only person in the world at this time. Cleaning the car off if a chore but a nice one again with the tranquility. Back in to brush my teeth chose my clothing for the day and kiss the wife goodbye for the day and like a good dwarf its hi-ho hi-ho and off to work I go.
Jump in the car and start the 40 minute drive that it is usually, today it will be a longer commute thats for sure. Theres 4 inches of white snow and the car handles it well, this is quite fun! down the road and a quick turn right lets take it a bit faster and let her slide a bit (with obvious control though) that was fun. Out of the developement or housing estate and onto the main road and its light brown slush and sleet. Here its a little more precarious and those seconds of fun give way to now lets be careful and not bank a new 20k car on the side of the road having to call family members for help which my brother in law had to do this morning at 4am with a flat tire. Now I am more worried about the so called other drivers those who leave late and take "chances" to get past people and those who are just not good drivers. Witness a near jack-knifed truck and later a car that did actually beach itself - said bad driver on straight piece of road - without knowing the full circumstance I just think to myself you deserve what you are going through right now for obvious disregard to the driving conditions. Somebody is helping you but you deserve to learn a lesson. Doubtless one of those people who drive too fast and you predict that one day those traits will get them into some small trouble. Timed it just right its close to 8am and arrive into work first with no other cars in sight, one does come but most are later than me and they live most of them close by.
Roll on the good weather. Wintry laziness be gone.

Refu's car fleet changes.

2008-11-19T04:16:00.001-08:00

History Making first T.V. HOLOGRAM Interview.

2008-11-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

Star Wars meets ballot counting, I was amazed to see this tonight about 7.20pm a tv interview conducted with a hologram of a reporter beamed into the studios to talk to the anchor.

Jill and I were just talking about why there has not been any kind of new advanced virtual reality coming in and how I could maybe talk with my friends and family back in Ireland almost face to face and tonight I saw a glimpse into the future of what may be a new communications world. Star Wars was a movie well in advance of all other movies and now it seems in advance of reality. Here you can see the princess leia like hologram and imagine where this will lead to in the future.

The hologram is created using 30 plus cameras shooting simultaneously to create a unique 3-D which is beamed back to the studios.

Also click on Ray's link and give mea hit.

Thank you.

My car window got blown out by a BEBE gun.

2008-09-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

It happened in the early wee hours of monday morning. (more info soon.)

Sunday at Ocean City New Jersey.

2008-09-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

A day at the Beach.

2008-09-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

Waking up this morning I was able to watch the two main games today, Liverpool having a nice win and Arsenal also obliging in great style 4-0, and as about the most easy game they should face this season.
Then on out to the hotel pool for a while before we went out onto the beach less than a 3 minute walk away. Marc has had a touch of some kind of bug and had to take it easy for the day. Then about 4.30pm we returned back to the pool for another dip and then got showered and now we are about ready to go out to get something to eat. Looks like its going to be Jays Crab Shack.Some seafood is possibly the order of the day.

UPDATE
We decided to walk along the boardwalk to check out whats on it. There are surprisingly many more shops for eating and shopping than the Maryland equivalent. There were many arcades and pizza places, we turned at 9th street and walked about 4 blocks looking for Jays. Finally we found it, well Jill did as I walked right past it. Jays is quite a small place in terms of shop front space and thats why I walked right by it. We went in and I must confess I thought it was a bigger place and I became slightly worried that I had picked a bad location for our seafood fix. I consoled myself with the reviews of so many people online. We selected our drinks and when they came in plastic containers my worries continued. Jill and Marc ordered the crabcake sandwich while Jack and I chose the twin crabcakes. Everything would come with old bay season fries and coleslaw made on the premises. When the food did come in a basket and it was tasted,everything was fine. These were crabcakes with no filler, lovely lumps of crabmeat. Very tasty and very satisfying.
We walked back along the boardwalk again and played a round of miniature golf, quite fun and an easy straight line course. Marc, Jack and myself all played and each of us had 2 holes in one. Then off to bed to be ready for a hot day tomorrow 90 fahrenheit about 30 celsius. Also there will be an aerobatic vintage plane display.
Until tomorrow my friends.

Refu on the road to Ocean City New Jersey.

2008-09-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Ocean City New Jersey, I have taken the blog on the road for the first time. Two hours and 140 miles away and tonite I write from the Jersey Shore. Its something that is going to be interesting as I will write about our time on the ocean. This is in effect extending our summer by a little bit. All this stuff gets prepared in the sense that we talk about what and where we are going in advance.

So in order to make the check in time of 10pm, I worked some time back and left work about 4pm getting home about 5pm and leaving for the shore. Now normally this trip would take 2 hours and would be a nice drive. Well we had rush hour traffic as we left locally and flowed slowly but steadily until we got to Philadelphia where the rush hour was crazy and it took us 75 minutes to get about 15 miles to the other side of the city and over to the state of New Jersey. Ahem we got slightly lost in Philadelphia around the older parts of the city, normally a beautiful area but frustrated with the local time of 8.30pm and with just 90 minutes until the check-in office would close we were in a desperate rush to make it to OCNJ. The other side of the bridge to New Jersey was really quite slow also and we wondered if we would be sleeping in the car. After some minutes of worry we finally finally made it to the check in office with sore backsides from being in the car for 4 hours. I hate rush hour traffic.!!!

We quickly grabbed something to eat and right now we are watching what may happen in Houston and Galvaston in Texas as hurricane Ike is coming to the mainland. This storm is massive and is 700 miles in diameter. Tomorrow its into the pool and into the ocean and then out to eat before we hit the board walk by the night hours. Now I am quickly getting tired and in order to be ready for tomorrow I will get some shuteye. Our room is just about better than basic, but we will for the most part be out of the room. Good Night from Ocean City.

Finally I have a day off while the rest of you are at work.

2008-09-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Usually I enviously look across the atlantic while my compadre's in Ireland and Germany have a day off for whatever holiday. The states are not big on giving too many days off. Labor Day as it is known is for the workers who have this day to spend with their family. So today I have been content in the knowledge that all of you have been at work and I havent, in fact until now (midday) I have been slumbering and now I will tear myself away from the transfer deadline news...more on that later, to go to the community pool (I have a story to tell about that also later) for its last day. Labor day is usually the last day of the pool being open and we will go to enjoy the pool until 5pm.
So the transfer news of Berbatov and the likes will wait until I come back when it will be 10.30pm GMT and there will be 90 minutes of frantic transfer activity. I hope Arsenal can bag Alonso or maybe Vieira will come back. Very important that they bring in a good one. Tune in later.

Musikfest Day 1 gets started despite some big problems.

2008-08-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ahh yes Musikfest is back and its August too. The first day however was not to go as smoothly as we would have liked. After returning home from work and having a lovely bowl of zuchini stew, very tasty indeed, we were all ready to get going for day one of Musikfest 2008. We rounded up the troops and off we went. Driving to Bethlehem takes about 15 minutes, well 10 minutes into the drive and the power in the old car seemed to drop a lot and the car started to come to a stuttering slow crawl. We had to slow down and with hazard lights flashing we wondered what was happening. Was our old crap car about to die? Did we run out of fuel? We got off the main road as car drove by parping their horns. FO people! The car came to a dieing stop. So we got out and had a look, finally we had to call my father in law and hope that with some gas the car would start. Otherwise if that did not work we would have to have it towed back.
The father in law came with a cannister of fuel we put it in and with baited breath started the car. Fantastic!!! it started and we realised that I had not filled the tank the last time as we usually do and with the fuel gauge not working it must be estimated about how much there is still left in the tank. Perhaps I didnt do that so well this time. Well with tank having a few drops of fuel now we set out to find a gas station to fill up. The first one we came to was closed because of Musikfest. We drove around afraid we would run out of gas again and finally, finally we got to a station where I got $20 dollars worth about 40% of the tank capacity.
We drove to our usual parking spot in a neighbourhood where probably everyone knows each other and we probably look like strangers and walked to the center of the Musikfest. It was a nice feeling to after all the hassles be finally at the fest. We walked on to the Runa Pacha tent where the group from the Andes play they can found on youtube - check them out. They had changed their appearance slightly in that two of them were in what may have been traditional dress and they had thick face make-up in a weird way they reminded me of members of Kiss.

more later

Fourth of July.

2008-07-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

Dorney Park a tale of two halves - of the day.

2008-06-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Jill received for her birthday 3 passes to Dorney Park, a combined water park and amusement park. We had been to Dorney Park before a few years back and did not really like it. For some reason the park attracts boat loads of buses with people from the big city. Last time we went there was just too many people there, just too many. But this time around it was like "hey the tickets are free, so why not". Well now I can definitely say "never again". The day had started out early...this being part of Jill's birthday gift we set off for a flea market a kind of large car boot sale where various items can be got very cheaply. We were looking for really specific things and did not find them. Then it was on to a diner for breakfast, to fortify us for the day ahead...when you hear about the prices of food in the park you will understand.

more to come...soon

Family Night at Palmer Pool 2008

2008-06-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

Friday Palmer Pool had their annual family night where they remain open until 11pm. This reminds me of the post I had of a previous family night with a fantastic picture of the sunset. There were similar scenes this time but I didnt have a camera to capture them. No just a phone from which I took this picture, which hopefully captures a little of the flavour of the night. With flashing lights of various coloured lights for the dj who played some good music. This all added to the atmosphere and the night was a big success. The picture was taken from the grass lawn near the concrete pool deck. The water was cool but actually nice in a kind of "have to get used to it" way. We swam for a good amount of time and then had a break, it was then that we thought we may leave but it was close to 10pm then and I am happy we stayed a little longer until 10.50pm. The pool was very busy and it was an enjoyable night. There will be another family night in both July and August.

Duck has 9 young ones.

2008-06-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Summer must be the time of new families and at work this still holds through. Today it was discovered that the ducks now have 9 young ducklings, newly born. It was kind of funny to see how the ducklings would all follow their mother in small tight formation. Everyone was told to be careful driving around as the family would congregate under the cars. However later it was shown that they had returned to the pond/lake which is not far away. The best place for them. Today it was cooler and we had some strong thunderstorms so then, perfect weather for ducks!

Miles Per Gallon experiment.

2008-06-16T09:27:00.002-07:00

How much are you paying for Gas/Petrol?

2008-06-16T09:27:00.001-07:00

With petrol/gas reaching $4 a gallon, a level that is making many people in the U.S. quite unhappy, but remember I know that it is much more in Europe so those of you in Europe will say "so what! its more over here". However we must remember that everything in life is relative and until things affect our own insular lives then we dont seem too bothered really. I must admit I dont even know what the price is in Ireland (per litre). Four dollars over here is quite the breaking point. I never much went in for those massive jeeps/suvs & trucks. Coming to America visually on the highways that was always striking to me. Ireland a nation of such small cars and America a nation full of big fuel guzzling suv's, and as long as fuel was relatively affordable this lifestyle was going to be indulged. Lately it has been a different story and with some vehicles here only getting around 12 miles per gallon its easy to see why, trade in those fuel guzzlers for a smaller economical car. My own cars get about 30 miles per gallon and I want to find a more economical model...any suggestions, please post below. Suv's are now so hard to get rid of and people are trading thousands to gain an extra 10 miles per gallon. Such undertakings need careful mathemathical assessment and knee jerk reactions will not help in the long run.
We have been looking at Hybrids...Toyota Prius being the shining model of the future maybe...however lately I have heard that problems lie ahead for the hybrid's with the battery that is principally used to lower the intake of fuel by switching between fuel and battery, with the battery being so expensive to replace in the 3-4 years life it has. Also parts are perhaps expensive and hard to find. Three years ago when I eventually bought my Saturn I was looking at the Prius, but declined on the grounds of perhaps Toyota not being so reliable. Now I just want a good car maybe 2-3 years old with better than 35 miles per gallon anyway back to the main question.

How much are you paying to fill your vehicle? and what plans do you have for the future?, has all of this changed your attitude to the future?

Birds have flown the nest.

2008-06-16T09:26:00.002-07:00

Our old car is giving us problems.

2008-06-16T09:26:00.001-07:00

Pool is open for business, the summer is here.

2008-06-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

Philadelphia Cheesesteak and a Graduation.

2008-06-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

Update:- Chicks have now hatched.

2008-05-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

Our chicks in the wreath on the door in the nest have now hatched. Two days ago we noticed that the 3 eggs are now 3 chicks.

Arsenal season review has started.

2008-05-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Go to Ray's sports page on the other side for details.

Another brush with the law.

2008-05-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

Another morning I left home for work. As I drive my way to work there are always groups of schoolkids gathered together at various points waiting for the school bus to come and pick them up. Just as I come to the end of my park developement where I need to take a left turn there are always a group of kids and a bus stop.
In this country when a school bus stops for kids an actual stop sign pops out of the drivers side of the bus and all traffic must stop and stay a safe distance from the bus. On this occasion I was static at the junction needing to turn left while the bus had stopped to the left of me, cars lined up behind the bus, the bus driver waved me out to make my turn. So carefully I drove on, as I cleared the bus and surveyed the cars behind, oh shit! about 3 cars back there is a police car. What should I do? Just drive on and ignore the cop. NO I think the best thing to do is roll down my window and tell him that I was waved on by the driver. As I slow down I see the cop getting ready to ask me before I say anything. So when he said "Did you Stop" I just nodded and told him the driver had waved me on. The cop said OK and I drove onward to work.

Check back on Good Cop Mad cop story. Full Story now in place.

2008-05-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Flyers are still alive in the play-offs. Ice Hockey.

2008-05-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

www.flyers.nhl.com
My assimilation into the fabric of american sports has continued. After American Football I now take Ice Hockey as my second sport in this continent.I have really taken the sport on in a big way and now especially during the play-offs where an already fast game has somehow ramped up to a faster and faster game in the play=offs. Of course I have to support the local team the Philadelphia Flyers and having dispatched the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens in 7 and 5 games respectively in the first two rounds of the play-offs they have come to tackle the Pittsburg Penguins. The flyers being a 6th seed had beaten the 1st seed Canadiens in the second round and now must keep the series alive today against the 2nd seed Penguins. The Penguins have an outstanding home ice record and with their first two games in the series at home in each game they have taken the initiative in each game and while the flyers came back to make them close games the Penguins have gone on to win taking a 2-0 lead in a best of 7 series for the right to be Eastern Champions and semi final for the whole Stanley Cup. The third game saw the flyers trying to overcome a 0-2 hole. Again through some small luck the Penguins took the lead through a slight deflection and the flyers did not play well losing 4-1. Last Thursday the flyers had to stop the Penguins from making it a sweep and not letting them take it on home ice. Watch the video to see what happened...you will get a great sense of the speed and physical pounding the players take plus some fights which Marc loves to watch, its quite funny. Needless to say the Flyers won and have extended their season by another game. That game is today in Pittsburg and the flyers have to weather the storm that the Penguins will bring. They will want to finish the series and get that 4th game under their belts to move on to the Stanley Cup Final having won the Eastern conference. There have only been 2 comebacks from the 0-3 situation in an eastern conference final 1942 and 33 years later in 1975....well guess what? 2008 is another 33 years later! The flyers are getting a few guys back healthy and today will fight like they did last Thursday to extend the series. Having been in Philadelphia yesterday (story coming soon) I have seen their support in the city and the city are behind them. Good luck Flyers and I hope the series can be taken back to Philadelphia for a 6th game. They trail 3-1 in the series.

The Birds are near me at home and at work.

2008-05-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

This is kind of funny that the same kind of thing is happening this time of year. Well it is spring time here and not quite too warm just yet but it is a fact that at home we have what appears to be a robin nested in a wreath (probably from christmas time) on our side door. There are three small blue eggs in the nest and it would be nice to witness the hatching of the eggs. We do however try to leave them alone and not to disturb the mother too much. Of course I will endeavour to keep posting on further "hatching" developements.
You know I nearly forgot to mention the work connection. The other day I was walking into work and noticed this duck just walking across the parking lot...this was really strange and odd...true to say that there are some parks and ponds/lakes nearby maybe even a block away...but a sheet plant is no place to rear a family!!!.
Furthermore through the day it transpired that there were two duck eggs in one of the small garden plot near the front entrance. The mother was apparently still walking around because she was likely to still perhaps be laying more eggs. Later today I looked for the eggs and got so close when I realised that the mother was sitting on them perfectly camoflaged, so much so that I could not see anything at all. The mother has started her nesting.

Pharmacy display in the stores.

2008-05-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

Today while I was in a pharmacy I looked for the Bald Guyz display that I had worked on over the last few weeks.

While I am not happy with the quality of the label applied to this display that I worked on, it does not negate the work I put into this display. This is a CVS display tray in a pharmacy and is geared towards Father's day. There are four travel packs with each containing a moisturising gel and a shower gel amongst other things. It is quite satisfying to see your work in the stores and definitely a source of job satisfaction.

Robert Pires, Arsenal 2000-2006

2008-05-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

I found this superb video on youtube and I have to say it got me teary eyed. This player was an integral part of a fantastic team, legendary names played alongside Pires and speaking from my point of view, while watching this I couldn't help but think what truly exceptional sporting years they were. I am proud to say I witnessed Pires at his best scoring againgst Leeds Utd in a 1-1 draw. Just some classic memories to feast on.

Bill visits Easton PA.

2008-04-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

Eigthy Eight.

2008-04-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

click here for link to film

Good Cop, MAD Cop.

2008-04-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

One day Jill, Marc and I were taking a ride in the car. I was driving and we came to what is called a 4-way junction where you must stop. The idea is that you stop and then carry on in the sequence that you arrived at the stop. I am always sure to stop every time and as I took the left hand turn and drove for a few seconds, while talking with Jill and laughing about something Jill said "there's a cop over there" parked alongside a building. With smile on my face I looked to where Jill had gestured. To my amazement there is a cop with his window down. My window was down also but with radio on I could clearly read read his lips "DID YOU STOP"!

While still smiling I nodded my head and then hoped he would finish his donut. [Disclaimer:- (I have no actual proof he was eating a donut)] Also hoping he would not come after me with all sirens blazing!. Next time Mr Cop, please pay attention and catch those who dont obey the law.

Walk for Autism Awareness Day.

2008-04-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

It was Saturday April 12th and it was to be the day that many people would walk for Autism Awareness, a neurological developemental disorder which is becoming unfortunately more and more prevailant. The latest figures have said that a new case is diagnosed every 20 minutes or 67 cases every day. More figures now say that it is more widespread than AIDS, perhaps this figure relates to the U.S. only. Other research suggests figures may have increased due to the fact that the diagnosis has been expanded and now encapsulates a wider range of cases. Saturday would be the day when all of those who are affected or know of this disorder come together to bring awareness to Autism. Teams of those who donated gathered in line to walk the 1.5 miles (shortcut) or the hardcore 3.5 miles for those who could do it.

Crayola Crayons a local and very large company were on hand to meet and greet the walkers and right here Marc is meeting one.

There were some imposing characters on hand for the day and everybody enjoyed the presence of "the dark lord Vader", and his stormtroopers.

We made sure to have Marc celebrate his completion of the 3.5 mile course.

Despite the fact that we had to wait nearly one hour for the event walk to start (it was due to start at 10am) the whole day was a big success and with a large attendance it was definitely a successful event.

Saw Doctors Bethlehem March 2008.

2008-03-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

So anyone who has been reading for a few years now will realise that this gig was more than just a gig. This was a make-up date for a past event that the Saw Doctors were not able to fulfill last time out. Leo one of the band members explained that it was "good to finally get back to Bethlehem" that gig would have been in a high/secondary school and that would have been interesting. We drove the short trip to the lehigh university and as we turned into the parking lot Jill noticed what looked like Leo...."isn't that Leo she said" (one of the band members) "Yes" said I. I lifted my hand and waved a knowing wave as if to say - I know you! Leo waved back in a kind of chilled out beer buzz as he was holding a beer in his hand...something not exactly legal over here, but it was quite dark and cold. When we parked we debated if we should "shark" him (follow and ask him some questions). Now I'm a bit wary of being a pest but then again you hear many a story about the band being very nice and approachable. Still after we half-heartedly walked in the same direction to find him again we then kind of gave up - well it was cold and windy. Eventually we went into the building. It was mad, a large building open and cold looking filled with musik/celtic fest type stands for food and crafts but with not enough volume to fill the chasm of arena the building was. As you can see from the picture its quite big and over marcs shoulder in the far back left hand corner was the stage which when we arrived had some ceili dancing. Quite good. That finished and then the countdown to the band coming on was in earnest. Merchandise came out and I had to scrum through the crowd to get my CD "That takes the Biscuit" (I mean literally come on people) and a couple of shirts one for Marc and one for Me....$55 dollars total thank you very much.
More waiting and then the band came on. Needless to say the band made the best of their environment as surreal as it may have been!!! I am sure they were thinking WTF. Still the first few songs were old ones and as they reeled off song after song the open and cold environment faded away to feel more like an intimate setting. I am thinking there were perhaps 200 people there and by the end of a short(ish) set all went home happy, I am sure. There was the usual encore Ole Ole etc etc and a nice version of Hay Wrap with a beastie boys twist. By the end we were all happy and looked forward to New York in a couple of weeks. We wished we had "sharked" Leo but please god there will be another time for that. As we drove out of the parking lot we saw their huge tour bus packed full with mod-cons and beeped a kind of cheers and thanks and see ya again soon kinda beep. We went home full of the memories of the day and happy we saw the Saw Doctors again one more time.

Google Earth.

2008-03-01T20:51:00.000-08:00

View Larger Map

Wow, although the images are between 1 and 3 years old, this is still a very cool application. Almost feels like I am right above Dublin now. More on this to follow....

Proposition317 - a worthy cause if you live in America.

2008-03-01T19:28:00.000-08:00

It has come to my attention via a TV ad that there is a movement out there to campaign for the making of St Patrick's Day to be a national holiday in America. Now this is something I have been joking with my boss about, as over here they dont believe in giving workers too many days off much less national holidays. So with this in mind its an issue that would be beneficial to me and in any case an Irishman should always look for this day to be a day of rest and drink and beer and alcohol. The campaign organisers (yes it is really a campaign) need to have one million signatures to submit to congress in less than 16 days and with over 900,000 to go, there is lots of work to be done. Those of you outside of the U.S. may try to sign up but I'm not sure if it will be allowed on the site, if this is the case then all I would ask is for you to spread the word and therefore give the petition the best chance of success to reach one million. Let everyone you know have the power to change the world in general and America in particular.

www.proposition317.com

Saw Doctors return to Bethlehem...finally.

2008-02-29T17:38:00.000-08:00

Regular readers may remember this picture, if not then check the archives October 2006 (Friday the 13th no less). At that time it had been the only gig that the Saw Doctors had failed to show for after a really freak snowstorm in what usually is tepid temperatures in October. I'd like to think that my munerous e-mails to Amanda Mc Grath at the Saw Doctors office has influenced the band to come back once more. Whatever the reason they are going to be the main event on Sunday at what is called "The Winter Classic". A kind of Celtic Fest where there will be music food and traditional events all day long. Its going to be a two day affair but for us the last act will be the best. The "Docs" are going to close the event with a gig at 7.30pm.

The Winter Classic.

Another season, another photo competition.

2008-02-29T16:38:00.000-08:00

When you are married you tend to take on some aspects of your spouses's hobbie(s). So with this in mind Jill and I set out to win the Valentine's photo competition. Jill had entered for the christmas competition and she came around 9th place. This time around we combined together in principal to win this thing. As it turned out while I was at work Jill became inspired and took one of the above pictures, whilst I had an idea myself, also one of the pictures here. In the final judging by Jill's Cabbage Patch peers our efforts combined netted us a fourth place, a third place and yes first place.All of this and there were over 50 entries. So one of the pictures above won the competition whilst the other one came third, one of them I took and one of them Jill took.

Can you guess who took which picture?...and which one came third and came first?.

Blog owner approval.

2008-02-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

Ah come on now, you're having a joke. I just went to Uiscebots blog to leave a message of support on one of the posts in which it announces that the work may be published in a different -out of the box - kind of way. I type out a nice message of support and take care of my username and password to ensure the message is posted.
It is then that I realise my message is going to be censored by "the owner"....sure what could I say that would need such censorship? Perhaps some people would leave some unsavoury and mindless comments but I wouldnt think of it. The beauty of these Blogs is that there can be open avenue's of speech and writing exchanging comments and ideas. Come on "the owner" what do ya think?.

More cold and snow and freezing rain.

2008-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

Perhaps 10 days ago we had a snow system that dumped about 2-3 inches of snow, soft fluffy stuff and very light. Coming back home from work one night was very tricky. Just after I took this picture about five minutes from the house the traffic lights turned green and I had some real trouble getting any traction in the slushy fluffy snow. I did eventually get moving. It was then when I was really only a matter of seconds away from the house that while slowing for a caution stop sign coming to a hill of about 45 degrees incline. I knew I would need some real momentum to make it but I lost traction and there was no where to go. I was stationary and reving hard. Some teenagers came to try and push me but soon all I was doing was burning rubber. Here I was with now real bald tires and so close to home. I thought I would have to abandon car and walk home. With all entries to the road to the house having some kind of incline I decided to get to the one with the smallest incline, however this meant a 15 minute drive to drive the level gradient roads and with bald tires. I finally had to come all the way around again to enter the grounds of the school and bus depot to finally get home. It had been such an ordeal and I was so glad to get back to the warmth of a house and rest easy.

test pic from new laptop

2008-02-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

test picture

Refu to showcase his daily efforts.

2007-12-07T09:55:00.000-08:00

It suddenly occured to me that since I am so busy at work - doing what I do - that perhaps part of the blog could entail exactly what kind of jobs I am working on. A snapshot if you will of what exactly Ray gets up to.

Today we are completing the final prototype of a concept for a quarter pallet floor display. The concept meeting was perhaps 4-5 weeks ago. A quarter pallet display for a floor space is very limited indeed and does not give much room for product placement. Therefore it was imperative to display as much product as possible. I really enjoyed working on my concept and later today it should be completed fully mocked up with graphics for a conference which may generate some interest. I will post some pictures when I can get them.

Have a merry CPK christmas.

2007-11-28T09:49:00.000-08:00

Last night I finally motivated myself to do something Jill had been asking me to do for a few days now. The results of which I have to say I am very proud of, you see, there was this competition on one of Jills favourite websites connected to Cabbage Patch Kids and a holiday theme. I had not seen what the standard of picture was required and therefore continued uninhibited in my creativity. I had a sleigh from a promo that we did at work last year and placed the father christmas character inside it, then we placed a reindeer kid at the helm of the sleigh led by some rein back to father christmas, add into the mix an elf and a snowman figurine and a christmas tree and the final picture we think is very good. The picture was placed onto the website for voting and whilst we may be biased, we think it is pretty damn good. The picture was placed on the home page of the website and it is safe to say that the picture was liked. Take a look and comment.

News of a visit to Ireland.

2007-11-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, well I am amazed that it has been about a month since my last post....I feel a bit like I'm in church or something giving my confession (bless me father it has been a month since my last post). Maybe I was suffering from the ole writers block...yeah thats a good excuse. Well the fact probably has been my eternal laziness, sher its been always a good excuse. Anyway readers I do intend on detailing my life as it is now and as it has been and as it will be in the weeks, months, years ahead. This means tidying up pieces from months back and trying to make this space readable again. So for those of you who have checked back from time to time and are reading this now....I will say welcome back and happy reading.

Latest news is I will be flying back to Ireland for a wedding this weekend. My cousin Rosemary (I'm sure I will have to post about this aswell) is getting hitched. Dont know too much about the details right now only that I have to turn up and all the finer details are being taken care of. I do however have to drive 3 hours to Leitrim the same day I arrive in Ireland at around 7am (Friday). I have not in the past had time to drop into old friends at my old workplace and dearly hope I get the chance this time as it is criminal to not say hello to those whom I have shared good times, even if it was at work. The work culture between Ireland and America is so different and one of the facets of it is that over here you just dont get any amount of real holiday time. However my boss has allowed me to take the time to come over Friday/Saturday and Sunday and I fly out early Monday. As a consequence of this work has been very busy and posting has suffered. So for those of you who have read this, you will know that I may possibly be coming and for those of you who havent read this I will really surprise you on Friday morning. Here's hoping I make it now.

Indian summer coming to an end.

2007-10-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, or just those select few who choose for some reason to come back to me. Well as one might imagine after being away from writing for the last few weeks I may have a lot to say, this is true there has been a lot going on and I will get to all of that. However I feel it is iportant to relay the main news from the states today is the fact that this is probably going to be the last really great hot and sunny day. Yesterday temperatures of 90+ degrees fahrenheit / 30 degrees celsius were recorded and today we are told will be somewhat similiar. The days to come will see a cooler front and the balmy days of summer will be a recent memory. We cant really complain as my home country of Ireland had one of the worst summers in memory with something like 60 days of continuous rain. Intentionally we have made our summer very very busy and I apologise to those whom I have missed phone calls from. Believe me when I say I will catch up wth you all really soon. The recent weeks have been busy with my family visiting and doctors visits (but more of that later).

Summer planned down to the last, trips to western Pennsylvania, waterparks, beaches, festivals packed with great music and pricey food, concerts in New York and days at the pool. Summer 2007 will be one that I will remember for a long time punctuated by the song "Umbrella". Jill and I would joke about this as on hot weekends we would get to the pool 30-45 mins early to ensure we would be first in line for the 8-10 umbrellas at the pool. We would say "we have to get to the pool for our Umbrella, Umbrella eh eh eh" you know the Rihanna song. There are other reasons for which summer 2007 will be memorable not least the reason for my doctors trips as mentioned above. For now it is the onset of autumn.

Watch this space. I have lots of news.

2007-09-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

Rest assured faithful readers I have lots to talk about good and not so good. So keep checking back...I have been extremely busy lately and will have some time soon to post. Keep the faith.

Living it large Beckham Style. 1st half.

2007-08-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

In the full knowledge that this post may end up on another page (thanks Colm for the exposure) I would like to state that at first it felt a bit funny to be going to see David Beckham play a game over the weekend.
Beckham has arrived in the states with some small amount of hoopla and he alone has raised the profile of the smaller game in the greater scheme of sports in this part of the world. People have said that he could have come over in two years time for the same salary and whilst some will argue it was something of a mercenary decision to come for 1/2 million a week, I believe that he has come to promote the game to higher levels here in America. The level of the game here is no where near the level of a premiership game but given time and increased exposure to the game perhaps Beckhams mission will be sucessful in the end. It is a massive market in this country and if by his participation in the MLS (Major League Soccer) he can bring some greater attendances then the whole sport will benefit. When I previously stated that Beckham could inject 40,000 more people to the games, all the facts were not yet to hand. For the game over the weekend (Beckhams first full game for his new club) there was an attendance of 66,000 and I have since heard that usual attendance at a Red Bulls game is of the order of 10-12,000. This is an amazing figure, Beckham has drawn in reality 50,000 plus more people. Having attended the game over the weekend it is now believeable, everywhere I looked there were white Beckham number 23 shirts, everywhere!!!.
My first idea that the standard of football was a little lower was in eveidence that there were three goals in the first 8 minutes, Juan Pablo Angel scoring first for Rde Bull New York and Beckham powering back to assist for 2 more goals for the L.A. Galaxy, first from a corner and then from a free kick. Beckham's ability on the dead ball plain for all to see, this was a good game with 3 goals in the first ten minutes and the gae ebbed and flowed from end to end until near the half time whistle when a move on the left hand side of the area was building, a red bull player had the ball and Beckham alongside his defender went to close him down. An attempted cross hit Beckhams face and rebounded perfectly for the red bulls player, his cross cut out four defenders just marking space and came to Clint Mathis who volleyed a rocket of a shot into the corner and the teams settled for a 2-2 share of the game at half time.
Halftime and it was time to hit the little boys room and just walking through the back structure of the stand every club and country colour was represented, this was not truly a partisan attendance this was a celebration of the great game where everyone had come to see a good game and watch Beckham (myself included- an Arsenal supporter). Later that night we would see some guys topless with black on thier chests and he was saying something like "we all want to see this great game come back again" in a clear nod to the halcyen days in the 1970's. The evening had been a real electric atmosphere where knowledgeable soccer people came to congregate at the chapel of the sport. Coming in I was wearing my Ireland jersey (I had to represent!) and a steward said to me at the gate "Ireland". It felt good to be amongst my own people, people who love the game.

Never thought I would say this.

2007-08-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

We are going to see David Beckham play on Saturday. As many of you may know Beckham is a big name soccer (football) player who has now moved to L.A. Galaxy, and on Saturday thay will play Red Bulls New York. We are going to the game at Giants Stadium. A game that is expected to draw over 60,000 to the game. For this game and with Beckham expected to play the attendance will have risen by 40,000. Such is the draw of Beckham that he is doubling attendances wherever he is playing. Beckham seems to be regaining his fitness and he scored from his first free kick not only of the night but the first of his career with his new club. Landon Donovan the present team captain has handed the captaincy to Beckham and also in the last game Donovan scored off an assist from Beckham.
So today we will go to the pool for a couple of hours and then come back and get prepared to go to the game leaving around 4pm. The game starts at 7.30 here and it would be good to get there early. Its a 90 minute journey to the stadium but its guaranteed to be busy....more news later.

Musikfest sneakpeak.

2007-08-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

I bring you the sound of Cast In Bronze.

What a day, oh what a day.

2007-08-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

After all of the debate about the terrorist threat we decided to leave for New York around 4pm. It was actually 3.45pm and it was a very pleasant drive into the city with Jills co-pilot skills at her highest. We had mapquest directions and it was plain sailing all the way to the Holland Tunnel. This is one of two major artery routes into New York and it actually goes under the water a 3 mile stretch of water. Jill has a fear of bridges and these tunnels and the recent tragic event regarding a bridge has heightened her fears. She was brave and we continued into Manhattan. The Fillmore Irving plaza was very close by, in factonly a matter of a few miles and we followed our directions and came across a street market, so we had to deviate from said directions. Eventually after some driving through pedestrian filled streets and asking directions we found our parking area which was promised on the Fillmore website to be discounted. In the end it turned out to be $8 dollars for around six hours, very reasonable. In the ideal un-terrorised world we would have come into New York and spent the whole day, but events in the previous post explained this was not possible.

We emerged from the parking out into the bustle of the city. I had a slight Ferris Bueller feeling after I left the car keys with the attendant, a man of asian decent. Anyway we walked around the block and found the Fillmore our venue where the Saw Doctors will be playing later that night. It seems a less than glamorous venue with scaffolding as a part of it complexion, however I know that most every act that is famous have played there at one point or another, in fact the Saw Doctors on their website tell an amazing story about leaving a message for U2 in the dressing room. Its time to grab something to eat and we walk around for a bit and find a vegan restaurant with an asian influence. Zen Palate is a casual-smart dining experience and without much fuss about where we are seated are taken to the edge of the restaurant nearby to the street and the bustle of the city in the weekend. The sun is strong on us but not oppressive. Jill orders Mango Halo, Tofu/Rice and Mango with decorative sring rolls, Marc has the veggie burger and fried Yams (a type of sweet potato fries). I have to have the Yams also and along with that I order the Dumpling Soup, oh my god!!!!...its massive a large large bowl of soup with various vegetables and many dumplings within. Full with food we can't order desert and Marc has to help me with my dumpling soup.
We walk the short distance to the venue where, while it is still early there is a large contingent of familiar Irish looking jerseys and shirts. Offaly/Galway and Mayo football jerseys are prominent and security are screening people in a casual manner. We get our parking validated for later and we are inside the front of the theatre, it has nice red decorative carpet and wooden stairs, not unlike the Olympia in which the Saw Doctors played in Dublin back in March. It is quiet now and not too many people are here, we decide to go upstairs as the area in front of the stage will likey be packed with people. We find a nice spot and get situated. Unfortunately no seats to be had. The big screen has very trippy designed graphics over cartoons of Fantasia and other disney stuff along with generic ordinary images. While the excitement builds this big screen seems to go on for a long while. Finally after a while and with the theatre filling with people we have our opening act "Emmet Scanlon" a Limerick lad and was just barely rnough to keep everyone interested until the main event arrived after another lenghty interval of trippy visions on the screen.

Anticipation builds and builds and finally to the sounds of "Tales of the Unexpected" that 80's show and with lights a flashing the lads come on stage.

Its great to have the gig start, however it starts out a little slow with for me some unfamiliar songs some slow ones and some covers and then we get to the familiar songs and have a rollicking good time. It always seemd like the gigs last for 4 hours when in fact they are more like 2 hours. Theres the usual banter with the crowd and even a guitar going on auction for a friend of the bands who needs an operation. There is guitar solos and the usual cameo from the keyboard player and there is harmonica solos and saxophone solos. The guys are at ease with the crowd and the gig is all the better for it. They finish the gig and leave, its then that the usual encore implorings come and the shrill sound of (ole ole ole)soccer chanting and banging on the floor boards and balcony boards in perfect harmony. After a steady and constant sound of noise and ole's the band come back for more. They announce that "ye didn't think we were finished did ya?" and they start into more tradmark Saw Doctors songs. Each song now is treasured more than the last one and each song is hoped not to be the last and indeed it is a steady stream of songs seeming to be 45 minutes long until the end does come and the Saw Doctors have had a good reception at the Fillmore Irving Plaza in the fabulous New York City. The band have found their feet again after only being in the states for a few days. The crowd depart and in a sea of "Docs" fans there is a real energy, the energy of a group of people who have had a great night eager to talk about it for the next three hours. A real buzz of excitement for what they had just witnessed, a communal and peaceful aura. The Saw Doctors had performed their magic once again. For us the self proclaimed "Freedom High School 4" we had seen the lads this summer and we had been at the TLA in Philly around March time. I myself had scheduled my trip back home to coincide with the Olympia gig in Dublin in March also. So were are dedicated fans and we will see the band again sooner we hope rather than later. Like junkies we have gotten our fix for a while. Thank you lads.

Unsubstantiated Terror Alert casts doubt over our trip to see the Saw Doctors in New York.

2007-08-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

I purchased 3 tickets for the Saw Doctors way way back on May 11th, and here we are now on August 11th with breaking unconfirmed news that there had been some internet chatter in relation to New York, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles and a large truck containing radioactive material. This is always really bad news and quite worrying for everyone involved, those who live there, those who vacation there and those who hope to go see the Saw Doctors in the Filmore Irving Plaza, New York city. I mean come on!!!...of all times, the one day that we had planned to go into New York. It had been perfect a 16+ age limit gig. Marc could come with us as he really enjoys the music of the Saw Doctors and we could have a full day of just hanging out in New York. We had planned to leave at midday and right now it is 1.20pm and we are waiting on some kind of news which will encourage us to go without any kind of worry of being involved in anything dangerous.

We just dont seem to have much luck when it comes to seeing the Saw Doctors, as some of you may remember last year we were due to see them at Freedom High School, a location 10 minutes away from us. In the middle of October there was a freak snow storm in upstate New York near Buffalo and the band were not able to leave the area for the gig here in Bethlehem PA. Right now we are waiting a bit to see what we may do...

Crazy loud storm keeps us awake at 3am. August 7th.

2007-08-11T10:05:00.002-07:00

Musikfest Time Again August 3rd-12th.

2007-08-11T10:05:00.001-07:00

July 28th, Saturday Idlewild Park.

2007-08-11T10:03:00.001-07:00

July 27th, Idlewild Friday Road Trip.

2007-08-11T10:01:00.000-07:00

Asbury park is alive again.

2007-07-23T09:21:00.002-07:00

Near death experience.

2007-07-23T09:21:00.001-07:00

Coming home from work one day and running a little later than usual, just a few minutes from home when, along a small and winding road near a river by an old style family amusement park called "Bushkill Park" along one part of the winding road came a car. The car was veering very quickly onto my side of the road. I kept thinking that this person would correct the line of their car and get back into their own lane. It immediately became apparent that he was heading straight for me. The only thing I could do was really speed up whilst screaming at the same time. He had just missed hitting my side by an inch literally. As I recovered my composure I looked in the rear view and the SOB was all the way over on my side of the road. If I had been 5 seconds later I would have been in a box 6 feet under by now.
I had this surreal feeling of being spaced out just thinking about how I could have been in hospital that night.

Pyjama Night at Ritas.

2007-07-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Do you know your vowels?

2007-07-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Picture this, because I am willing to bet that you have never heard a story like this before. Its Saturday night about 10pm and there is nothing special going on. Marc asks for some water, and I decide if he wants water then he should know how to spell it. Well he starts out with W...good! and then follows with some generic consenants. So I ask Marc "do you know your vowels"?, and in the course of Jill and I teaching it to him, Jill starts by singing A-E-I-O-UUUUUUUU. So in an effort to forever burn this into Marcs brain we sing it out in a hummy nasally fashion A-E-I-O-UUUUUUU....oh maybe 50 times. It occurs to me that this may just look and sound quite funny to anyone within earshot and even for anyone to hear of this story. To have Marc sing it back and for him to miss E in the process of getting it right is very very funny. Another priceless memory for all of us. Remember when we taught Marc his vowels?!!!.

Oh yeah its family night and the feelings right.!

2007-07-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Last night Palmer pool had its family night. Usually the pool closes at 8pm but last night they stayed open until 11pm as they planned what is called a family night. I was hoping for this night to be stinking hot but it did not turn out that way and indeed it was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit / 25 degrees Celsius. We had a very nice meal of steak broccoli and smashed jacket potatoes and then around 7.45pm we went over to the pool. I got in while the sun was still up and the water was lovely and warm while Jill decided to read a magazine, time passed by and pretty soon it was around 8.30pm and then finally Jill got in. It was nice to stay longer than the usual 8pm and the lights in the pool were turned on. Around 9pm Marc and I got out and it was cold in the night air so we changed out and after about 30-40 minutes we changed back into the damp suits and spent the rest of the time in the water. We got home around 11.15pm and wentot sleep a few hours later. Right now we are preparing to go to the pool again after less than 12 hours of leaving it.

Lack of sleep and its funny effects.

2007-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

The last few months have seemed to me to be very busy ones, either that or the constant day to day work routine and having Friday come around as a saviour to the week in general. For me Monday has always been the start of a week and now that we as a family are in the midst of summer there is an intense desire to use every single day. This is actually more apparent in Jill than myself as she swears that she may have the SAD. Seasonal adjustment disorder the coming and going of the seasons and Jill has never liked the cold months. I have always been pragmatic about the seasons but perhaps coming from Ireland one can take that point of view. Any small part of the warm weather in Ireland we are always grateful for, whilst Jill has always had the good summers followed by the bitter cold winter and spring. So in effect the climate swing is greater in the states than it is in Ireland, Irish people accept it for what it is...may not like it but accept it, Ireland has the more constant type of weather but not the major swing in climate as is experienced here in the states.
Getting back to my main point it is this clammering to enjoy the summer to the fullest and fill all the weekends with major activities that has made me somewhat tired. Add into the mix the family life and a busy work day where there is always something going on that makes Jill and I tired. Now bear this in mind when I say that I have recently realised I have always had this quirk of initiating conversations late at night. As a pre-teen and teenager and even adult when I shared a room with my brother I used to always talk to him just at the point where he was about to drop off to sleep and this would annoy him quite a bit. Jill is always busy and gets up early and due to my nocturnal activities in watching tv late she doesnt always get the amount of sleep she maybe would like. I am aware of this but she never says anything to me about it so the status-quo continues. As if this wasnt bad enough she has my babbling to deal with late at night.
Last night I was so tired myself but on BBC America I was watching some chat show and Ardal O'Hanlon was on and he was extremely funny and I continued to watch as a consequence of this I was laughing at his comments and telling out loud to Jill what was said. I cant remember how the whole dialogue went but I remember thinking that it was so funny that I needed to write about it and it would have been wrote just like dialogue from a movie and you as the reader would have had to imagine who said what. This post seemed to make sense to me when I started out writing it but as I cant recall exactly what happened I will forgive you for thinking that I have lost it.!!!

Update: Tuesday Storm.

2007-07-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

Jill Marc and I went out for a meal last night and it was immediately apparent that the storm on Tuesday had done an awful lot of damage. Everywhere there were torn and twisted branches and some trees had been pulled from their roots. Even over 24 hours later there was still a lot of debris on the roads and all of the loose vegetation was shaken out of the trees above. It is clearly a big reminder that mother earth can be so powerful at times.

and another story here

Refu is one year old today.

2007-07-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

I just realised in the last few days that Refu is 1 full year old...I have enjoyed trying to fashion some kind of journal that is hopefully kind of interesting for folks to read and also an informative account of the life and times of refu and an almost daily narrative of what is going on over here. I thank each and every one of you for considering this page to click on in your website surfing, and I have to give a mention to Colm for all the comments along the year. I know that visually the blog has lacked pictures and embedded videos but I am working on making it visually appealing as it was before. Happy birthday Refu.!!!

The story of July 12th, and its relevance today.

2007-07-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

story to follow soon....

Fifteen minutes of carnage on normal Tuesday.

2007-07-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

Read this page here

Tuesday as I drove home and coming close to the mountain on I-78, there was a very nasty looking storm off in the distance. I never liked thunder and especially lightning and I didnt like to see the lightning strike in a very fast manner. You always think that lightning is far away from where you are but this time I could see it in the near distance. When I got closer to home there was traffic lights out and right by Bushkill park on the road there was a tree down which covered almost the two lanes of the road. Cars were being directed by a police officer and the cars had to verge onto the shoulder and an area where people regularly feed the ducks from the river.
When I did get home Jill told me about how the lightning had hit a garage of a neighbours and it had caught on fire. Also she said that the lightning was hitting so close and it was so loud. Our TV was down and it was only a day later when we learned how much damage the 15 minute storm had produced.

4th of July fireworks on a Saturday in Bethlehem.

2007-07-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

4th of July being Wednesday the weather was not kind at all and the rain date was set for Saturday. So in the evening after dinner we set out to get there with time to spare and on the way I had planned to stop by what is called the "cup". The cup is a really old ice cream place that actually started out many many years ago as a shack in the shape of a cup. Of course now its a proper building and as you can imagine, just trying to pick a flavour is an ordeal in itself. I had a nice banana split sundae and the others had a cone. From there it was on to near the south side of Bethlehem, as I suspected many other people had the idea of spending a Saturday evening watching fireworks. We walked down to the bridge and set up our blanket on a grassy embankment under some small trees by the roads verge, right about where we thought the fireworks would be visible from. We were there with much time to spare and waited and waited as people came and congregated and set down to watch the fireworks. The anticipation was building and building until we heard some fireworks off in the distance and we thought "are we in the right place". I was confident that we were in the right place and eventually the display did start. It was quite spectacular and as good as any fireworks display we were lying on our blanket and right above us were the fireworks of every colour. The tree we were under was only very slightly hindering our view of the display but I thought it was very nice to view the extreme colours through the small tree's branches. It was a nice way to spend a saturday evening.

Fourth of July trip to the swimming pool.

2007-07-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today we were all ready to go to the pool and as we got packed up to go the weather looked very cloudy and cool. When we arrived we were the only ones there. There were four of us and we got the feeling that the employees did not want us to be there as they wanted to go home. The Palmer pool has a policy whereby there must be a minimum of seven people in order for the pool to turn up. So it was very funny to think that we were keeping the pool open and we hoped that others would come to bump up the attendance and it was not long until 2 kids came and we hoped more would come to make the attendance more than the alloted seven. Finally we had been in the water which was a little cool for 30 minutes when they finally announced over the intercom that "due to lack of attendance Palmer pool will be closing in 15 minutes". We swam for a further 10 minutes and got ready to leave. I had been the first into the pool and the last to leave, it was kind of surreal as we left the area on independance day. We had been swimming for around 40 minutes and it was worth it, if only for a few minutes we had got our pool fix.

Independance day today.

2007-07-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today is the 4th of July and otherwise known as Independance day as on this day over two centuries ago America gained its independance from England and it also means that I have had the day off. It kind of feels like a Saturday or a Sunday as I am back to work tomorrow but the plus side of it all is the fact that I have two days to go umtil the weekend. Happy 4th of July to all of you who it means a lot to.

Ocean City Maryland Day Trip.

2007-07-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

In the past few years we have always gone to Ocean City Maryland and have had a great time and have stayed there for at least a long weekend. After deciding to go to Disneyworld in October it was clear that we could not spend so much time or money on other types of holidays, so we arrived upon the compromise of a day trip to OCM. The drive on a good day is always around 4 hours...we have done it before in 3 1/2 hours but typically it takes 4 hours. So on the Sunday after our Camelbeach excursion we set out for OCM and whilst we wanted to leave at around 6am it was actually 45 minutes later when we left. We were making pretty good time when as scheduled we decided to stop half way down for a couple of reasons, firstly to get breakfast as it would be more expensive on the beachfront and secondly so save time as we could get directly onto the beach when we arrived. My brother in law came along also with myself Jill and Marc. We ordered our food and I enjoyed my fruit crepe very much...Jill and Marc and myself were all pretty much finished with our food and we were now waiting for Jack who was really going slow. Keep in mind that our trip was at least 4 hours (x2) and all of this assing around was cutting into our day. It was easily 20 minutes that we had to wait for Jack. When we did get going something I did was to affect the time also. Somehow I took the highway in a northerly direction and it was almost immediately that I realised this however the next exit was 7 miles away. It was a 15 mile round trip just to get back to where we had been and more time wasted!!!

When we did get down to the beach it was a little while till we got parking ten dollars for the whole day. So out onto the beach we went with deck chairs and umbrellas in tow. We spent a few nice hours there and the ocean waves were a lot of fun. After the couple of hours had passes we went to the bath-houses which OCM cahmber of commerce had told us was the place to get freshened up. For 5 dollar each we were given a community type shower and changing area which could only be described as putrid and disgusting with delapidated showers and facilities. At least Jack and Marc and myself had the place to ourselves at the time but Jill not only goT into a row with an nasty old lady attendant but when she did finally get to her ladies changing room there were 3 teenage couples boys and girls just hanging out and from how Jill described it the mens room was seemed so much better.
From there we went out onto the board walk and pier...it had been a reasonably hot day and my brother in law who has to take medication three times a day seemed to be out of it. It was kind of scary as we were responsible for his well being. He had just been with us in the arcade and had played a video game with a large screen and with the heat of the day and just having a feeling that he was not feeling quite right we were worried. It was now around 7pm and I had work the next day Jack was having a seizure event just bad enough to make us quite concerned and we had a 4 hour journey ahead of us. As it turned out we were thinking about staying until around 8pm but as events unfolded us leaving then was going to be the best we could have done. We set back home around 7.10pm and hoped to be home around 11pm or 12pm at worst. The first hour or so was used up in just trying to clear the beach areas where all the other cars and vans were also leaving and there was frequent stop starts as traffic was quite heavy. So in effect the first couple of hours were slow going and when we did get moving everybody was driving like crazy, on one occasion we were alongside a car that had to swerve and brake as the car in front braked suddenly.
When we got to the turn off for I-95 North we noticed a neon sign saying that the highway was going to be closed. We were screwed!. Not knowing where or how to get back on track. We spent some time following some other familiar cars on our journey back and as we followed them in the by now dark evening and it being around 9.30pm and knowing we were easily 3 hours away still from home, it became clear that they were also lost and similarly to us had no idea of how the get back on track. So I had to get on a road and just drive in our general direction north and west to get closer to home. Seemingly lost I had to finbally stop at a gas station and ask for directions. This place was in the middle of nowhere we knew about and as I walked in it was like something out of a scary movie as the characters could have been right out of a movie. As I got in the door to the checkout lady there was a guy in front of me who was asking for her to break a $100 dollar bill and she couldnt or wouldnt. I then asked her for directions and she was unsure so after not getting any good answer...the kind that you feel confident about I walked outside and asked this guy was there having a smoke he was kind of surprised about how far lost I had gotten. After I told him where I had come from and where I wanted to get to and informed him about the highway closure he tolsd me to go back from where I came and take a combination of two roads to get me back onto I-95 North at a higher point in the highway. Well we must have gotten lost about three times and were delirious with tiredness and just wanting to be home already when we seemed to have found I-95 North again, only to find another big traffic jam which was not mioving at all. I took a gamble to take another exit and we ended up in what must have been southeast Philadelphia and eventually an area called Chester which from our times in Philadelphia was a welcome and familiar place name. Our luck had been so bad that we seemed to then catch some good luck and we came back out onto a part of the route home that we knew. We were still some way from home but at least we knew where we were and after another few hours we arrived home so very tired but very happy to be home at around 1.30am in the morning it had been 6 1/2 hours since we left and due to traffic and highway closures it was an extremely long day trip and I was very tired for the rest of the work week. Oh what a day!...trip.

Marc causing waves at the pool.

2007-06-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday we got organised to go to the pool and I also wanted to watch the US Formula grand prix qualifying so with that in mind we went early to get lunch to bring with us to the pool and be there first so that we could bag one of the umbrella's. We got there in good time and waited a few minutes until we were allowed to enter as the pool opened. We got all set up and I had a dip in the water. During this time a mother and kid came and sat really close to us, almost right on top of us and there was plenty of green area all around to sit in. In any case I went back to watch the qualifying and left Jill and Marc at the pool. When I returned about ninety minutes later Jill had filled me in about this person who was parked right beside us. Apparently Marc was being a little hyper and was walking around and being a bit loud making some noises that he makes. Obviously this had been and was getting on her nerves. Her kid was the obvious type that was seemingly a little spoiled and Jill had told me about his attitude in dealing wioth other kids around him...laying his towel on the pathway and in front of the common walkway of all pool users...and in an obvious attempt to get some sleep exclaiming loudly that it was "so hard for anyone to get some sleep around here".

When I had come back Marc was in the pool a little later and he was making some noises and this kid was impersonating those noises in an altogether not nice way. The first time I let it go and even the second time, but on the third time in the space of 15-20 seconds, this kid Kayden copied Marc again and while the mother did say each time that what the kid was saying was "not nice" and told him to stop. On the third occasion I chimed in sitting less than 3 feet away "hey little boy! thats my son over there". The mother in apparent shock that I would say this opened her eyes from laying down in the sun and said "he doesnt understand". I replied "well talk to your kid them". Kayden seemed obviously shocked that someone would intervene to check his attitude. About 5 minutes later the mother said to the kid that they would get ready to go home.

Later that day Jill was swimming and and a little girl remarked to her that she was thankful that Marc was so nice to her and that she liked him very much. For all the time that people in public dont understand Autism and his disability it is very pleasant to come across those people who are tolerant and understanding that people with disabilities can integrate with society and allow them to blend with others. Of course Marc has his quirks but he has the most happy demeanour and always has a smile on his face. It is always nice when he can have a meeting with a peer of his own age and they accept him for being just another kid.

Sunday 3rd of June, its back to Camelbeach.

2007-06-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have been reading for several months will know that last August we went for the first time to Camelbeach in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. Last August we picked the perfect day as it started out cloudy and threatened showers and thunderstorms which must have discouraged many many people and as it turned out it got brighter and sunnier as the day went on and the crowd was at a very low level.
This time around it was under similar conditions, cloudy and gloomy lookin, however the big difference was that this day did not get better. There had been a big storm down in Georgia and Florida and the forecast was for the aftermath of it to come over us. It was so bad that just as we entered it seemed very likely that it would rain. I was not optimistic but when I make a plan and (try to) consider all elements involved I usually go through with it and hope for the best. This was one of those days. So without further ado we got ready and started to go on the water-rides. First was the wave pool something Marc liked last year. This year as in most years he needs to become acclimatised to things again and remember that it is actually fun. The truth is with Marc you really never do know how he is going to take to things again. He did enjoy the wave pool again as he had done last August but it took him a while to get to that point again. Jack and I went on some of the other tube rides and tried all of them. Towards the end of the day we took the ski-lift to the top of the mountain. This is a surreal experience as it moves slow and quite quickly you leave the noisy water rides in your path and trade it for the serenity of the trees and the hill and some wildlife such as deer and turkeys. We got to the top after about 10 minutes and as advertised we went to get a malt shake in the malt house. It was still cloudy and murkey but from 11am till 3pm we had survived any bad weather so far. We went back down the hill via the ski-lift and the noisy water rides came back into our earshot.
We met up with Jill and Marc again and spent soem time with them in the pool and wave pool and then Jack and I did the Triple Venom ride again. Last August this thing messed me up and this time around it was the same again as I emerged with a serious headache as I was moving really fast on the slide down a steep decline. Finally the weather did close in and about 4.30pm we packed up in the rain and went home. It had been a long and busy weekend withe the yard sale and the waterpark too.

Saturday, the first leg in a busy weekend.

2007-06-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Our neighbours planned to have a yard sale on Saturday and some weeks before Jill and I agreed to set up our own stall alongside theirs. The date was set at June 2nd and we had earmarked a lot of items for sale. For those who are notfamiliar with the concept of the yard sale, it is where people set up to sell personal belongings at a vastly reduced price and people come to buy it from you.
We had prepared in the days leading up to the event with signs posted in the area to attract those who go yard saling. So when we woke up around 6am as is usual for the whole work week we immediately got to work. I got up and set out all of the signs and Jill got ready loading all of our gear for sale. I had to drive the large display table down to our neighbours about a 3 minute walk away, as it was quite heavy. So we set up all of our fare and waited for people to come. It was slow at first and we wondered if we would sell anything at all. I set out with $20 dollars as the goal at which I would be happy with. By the way all of the proceeds for this sale were going to our planned trip to Disney later this year. More on that later in the year. Things started off really slow and our first sale was a Jill item one of our small trolls for 10 cents. People would come in groups and then there would be periods when it was really quiet. All of this time the morning was getting really hot and later I would find out that I had gotten close to getting sunburned and had a red colour. Our neighbours are planning to move to Florida to look after their ageing parents and have two 20-something sons and a lot of their stuff which had accumulated through their childhood was on sale. They must have done really well and their sheer volume was far greater than ours. It still proved that we did very well and as we creeped closer to our stated goal and with each sale we got to the mark I had set and went beyond it. Our final tally was at $26 dollars and that will go into the "Disney" fund.
Jill had hosted a sale many years ago but did not make any kind of money and it was largely due to the size of the combined yard sale that benefitted us as there was lots of items for any regular person to be interested in stopping and browsing through. We had started our day at 6am and decided to stop around 2pm, the day was very hot and we spent the afternoon at the pool as right now it is only open at the weekends until school closes for the summer. The day was busy with the yard sale and relaxing at the pool as the water is still cool, but very refreshing. Saturday was the first day in our busy weekend.

Life goes on...but nothing changes...apparently.

2007-06-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

After the tragic events of Sunday and the (latest) fatal accident on I-78, it appeared to me that people should take their speed into account and become responsible for their own actions. If everybody just slowed down a bit then many accidents could be avoided. Whilst last Sundays accident was as a result of a driver falling asleep, it nevertheless bears to say that speed does kill.
It is therefore very troubling to see still that many people speed well above the set speed limit of around 65 mph and in construction zones 50 mph as if they are competing in a grand prix race. People who wont take a few extra minutes in the morning or have the patience to drive the legal speed limit. Why speed in the first place? To get to your destination a few minutes earlier? How did peoples lives get so hectic that they have to speed above the limit and seem to rush everywhere. People seem to accept that accidents will happen and everybody thinks that it wont happen to them, however if everyone took the same measures in slowing down even 5mph a lot of lives could be saved. Whilst driving people seem to feel that they are untouchable and safe. Life goes on...but nothing changes.

Major accident on the highway I travel.

2007-06-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday there was a major accident on the highway I travel every morning and evening for 5 days a week and the occasional time that we go to a flea market Jill likes to go to. There has been now for the best part of a week roadworks which has been ongoing and has caused traffic to slow down to a crawl for many miles back. As you can read here :-

I-78 Tragedy

. For approximately 12 minutes each morning and evening I run the gauntlet of speeding cars and large trucks navigating this stretch of the highway which varies from going up hills slowly and going down the other side fast so there is always a kind of stop-start feel to the drive. In other parts of the country trucks are by law required to stay in one lane and not be forced to try to overtake each other. All of these factors come into play in the part of the highway but yesterday the accident came about as the driver had fallen asleep and ploughed into about 5 cars ahead of him. Those cars had come to a stop as a result of the road works and had essentially no way of escaping what was to happen.

Unofficial summer has started.

2007-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend has heralded the beginning of our unofficial summer the local community pool opened yesterday in a weekend which is longer given that memorial day is Monday. The weather has also become a little bit warmer now with temperatures in the 80's Fahrenheit maybe 24-25 Celsius. So warm that last night I also installed our air conditioner so that we can be comfortably cooler as after a full day of this kind of weather the heat stays in the house late into the night and it can be too warm to sleep properly.

Public sneezer geezer.

2007-05-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Today when we went out to purchase a snack for brunch we stood in line waiting to be served. Now Jill and I already have something less than an affinity for those who have moved into the area from New York, so when we heard this guy in front of us order a coffee in a thick NY accent we both glanced at each other and rolled our eyes. Now that was going to be that except for what happened next. The guy wrenched his shoulders back and sneezed -without covering his mouth in any way- all over the place and in close proximity to the whole line of people. I really felt like asking him, "is that the way you were reared?" but I kept quiet and kept my shock within myself.

So its ok to offend the deaf.

2007-05-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today as I watched "Jackie Brown" and heard the ridiculous dubbing over of bad words such as "mothersledder", in order to protect society from such bad words, it occurred to me...What about those who are deaf and have to lip read?.
Should society now cover the lips of those actors in film who utter such bad words with big black fuzzy rectangular blocks so that the feelings of the deaf are protected?. What a country!!! I was always told "sticks and stones will break your bones but names will never hurt you". Quite true I would say.

Crazy drifting drivers.

2007-05-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Ok so if you read this blog on a regular basis you will no doubt know that I have a constant bitch session in relation to the state of driving around me. Every day that I take the highway to work I know that I will come across at least one individual who takes the lives of himself and everyone else around him seemingly for granted as they speed to get one car length or weave in and out of lanes. The route I take to work means for 15 minutes of each one way trip I am very wary of everything around me, not withstanding the fact that for about 5 miles of my trip there is concrete barriers between outward and inward lanes, making it even more dangerous.
Last night as I drove home I had an dividual who was perhaps (and I am guessing) was making some kind of conference call as within her lane she was drifting to each side and slightly over the median of a two lane highway with those afore mentioned concrete blocks. All of this too as she had speeded to get past me and now she was moving quite slow and drifting apparently not watching for the slight right hand bending that the road took us along. Crazy People.

Real World does not seem to be the real world.

2007-05-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Real World Denver has just concluded its show on MTV for this season and as I watched all of it unfold over the days and weeks, I arrived to the realisation that there are a number of things which make this show not exactly seem like the real world as most people know it.
First and foremost, the reason why I chose to talk about this topic was the absolute reality that America is a vast country which is really comprised of smaller individual ethnic groups. For the most part all of these ethnic groups stay together and live together. This is how it really is, every community congregates into its own areas and there are even some small towns that are solely Italian or solely of German or Asian or whatever. The Real World show is to be commended for trying to bring lots of different groups of young people and from different parts of the country and even those who hold different views and lifestyles. Here is the great thing, individuals will and have clashed as those who have lived life in a blinkered fashion come to realise that in the real world everybody needs to deal with each other and by the time the show comes to a close everybody is so thankful for the experience of meeting people from other walks of life.
MTV do however feel the need to vet those who have problems with alcohol and in so doing by means of casting pick a variable demographic and one which the producers feel will produce the most dramatic episodes. Its kind of like a human laboratory where the subjects are given alcohol to lower their inhibitions and due to living in such close quarters, the dramatic results are there for all to see. Real World Denver touched on some deep social issues regarding the state of the world in general, but it is generally a good thing if those who participate emerge as more well rounded individuals at the end of it.

Saturday, a day spent in the sun.

2007-05-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

Today Jill, Marc and I had a leisurely day after running a few errands we went out the back of the house and laid down a blanket and tried to fly a kite. It was quite funny watching Marc run around the field trying to get the kite up into the air and he would run very excitedly. The kite did take off at certain periods as there was a slight breeze but basically not enough to sustain the kite and it would die and come down to the ground very quickly. We then laid down on the blanket and enjoyed the warm weather, it has been about 25 degrees celsius and 80 degrees fahrenheit. We had an enjoyable and relaxed day.

Sign of the times.

2007-05-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

On the way to work the other day I noticed a Costco container and on the front side of the container I saw a large amount of chinese writing. This was the first time that I had seen in the flesh any indication of what I think is a sign of the times. From now on out we will be seeing a lot more from China. At work we hear all of the time that some sort of packaging has either come from or going to China.

Magic Bean play the Java Lounge.

2007-05-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday Chris and Charlie play the Java Lounge in Nazareth PA. Last time they played I was in Ireland and Jill and Marc went with our friends Theresa and Jessica and by all accounts they had a good evening listening to the lads play. Chris Thomas has a voice very similar to that of James Taylor and his repertoir consists almost completely of original songs along with some covers of Dylan and other artists. We are looking forward to hearing them again. Check out the two videos on youtube that I posted under MAGIC BEAN BAND.

Rubber-neckers.

2007-05-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

Driving home from work and all of a sudden the traffic directly in front of me seems to grind to a complete stop and slows right down. So I do wonder if there was an accident and after a few seconds I see that there was indeed a big fender bender, not a big accident but a big frontal fender bender and the accident occured on the other side of the highway. The police were on the scene and the two cars were well off the road, so why oh why did the traffic come to a near complete standstill?. Rubber-neckers!. what the fuck is so imnteresting about a minor fender bender?.

Scarred.

2007-05-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

Its about 10.30pm on Friday night and I am watching a show on MTV called Scarred. This show is purely about people's scarred stories and accidents that really did happen and ones that were being taped as they happened. The show almost exclusively shows those who participate in skating and skateboarding in public places. It is extremely graphic and shows lots of slow-motion and close-up shots of the accident as it happened and the scars it produced afterwards.

Jill will not look at the show and is disgusted that I watch it. I do wonder though, what does this say about me as a person?. Why do I look at the show even when I cringe when I hear the bone crunching sounds and see the bones popping out?. Perhaps it is the morbid curiosity that lurks within me, but it is seriously hard core and graphic.

I need this weekend.

2007-05-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

This is a weekend I really do need. I have been working on a project for a diesel pump which is 32 pounds heavy and it has taken the best part of 4 days to get it about right. Variety is the spice of life so monotony is the complete opposite and working on the same job from day to day is not the best way to go from day to day. Not knowing what you are going to work is the best way to go. This friday more than most others I really need the weekend- did I say that already?. For me the weather is right where it should about the 70 f / 18 c range and the days are very pleasant without being too hot and the nights are lovely and cool. Have a great weekend everybody.

Troll-a-philes A.P.B.

2007-05-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

After a few days back at work I noticed on the desktop some photos of my mascot - the Irish Troll (I havent given him a name....suggestions are welcome). He had been abused as I briefly noticed that his clothes had been taken off him and they teased me that "things" had been done to him. Recently Jill asked if I wanted to bring another one into work....I replied... "no way! ...and have them abuse him like the other one".

Marc is an olympian champion.

2007-05-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Marc participated in the special olympics held at liberty high school, in Bethlehem. The previous night I had gone through some practice sessions with him in order for him to be ready for the events Jill had signed him up for. The events were the long throw with a softball (large baseball), the 100 metres and the 200 metres. Unfortunately I was at work and could not attend the event, but as it transpired our practice paid off handsomely. The first event was the 100 metres and from what I have seen of it on the camera video Marc seemed to win this one quite easily and took first place. Fantastic...this has been just the second time he has won a blue ribbond for first place as last year he also won an event. The next event was the 200 metres and he was also prominent in this race leading for most of the way except he got tired and was pipped in the last few metres....second place and a red ribbond. Great!!! His last event was the long throw, an event which after our practice I was hopeful he might do well...he came 4th out of 7 participants. All in all a great effort and we celebrated last night with a meal at Red Robins. Great effort on Marcs side and congratulations goes to him.

2007-04-29T07:46:00.002-07:00

Your Hippie Chick Name Is:

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Lucy, Long Beach Island and Ly-ins.

2007-04-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we set out for a day trip. The kind that happens a lot more in the Sring and Summer that it does in the Autumn Winter. I had it all planned first to Margate New Jersey and then on to Long Beach Island New Jersey. I had all the driving directions and indeed the only problem was our being very tired. Marc was tired from school, Jill was tired from getting up early again now that I was back from Ireland and oh I was unbelieveably tired.

I could not believe how much the trip to Ireland (where admittedly I did not waste a minute and I was up very early each morning) had taken out of me. In years gone by I would visit Jill 3 times a year and fly back the same morning I had work and would go straight to work and get back home that evening.This time it had taken me something like 10 days to truly feel normal again and in some respects I am still tired even whilst writing this.

Anyway we were all tired and instead of leaving maybe at 7am it turned to be 9.15am when we did leave and all was well until we got to Philadelphia and trying to get onto the Ben Franklin bridge. I have to admit this was my fault and cost us 40 minutes as we drove and drove and finally asked for directions to the bridge which was in full view above us and seemed in touching distance but we could not get to it. Having gotten onto the bridge the rest was fairly plain sailing and despite some really expensive tolls at $2 and such for a car we got into Margate a small town 10 minutes from Atlantic City (the east coast Las Vegas). We did encounter another toll whic demanded exact change of $1 in coins!!!....mad scramble for coins as the people behind us waited patiently. Coins got dumped into the basket and on we went to visit Lucy the elephant, a national historic landmark. Lucy was and still is an old style early 1900's beach resort attraction which was used in those days as an accompaniment to the famous elephant hotel where those with vast sums of money would come from Atlantic City and climb on top of Lucy the elephant )who is 65 feet tall) in order for them to pick which lot of land they desired to buy for investment and then they could get back to Atlantic City in good time for the night. Lucy has gone through various states is disrepair and even ruin and ever since 1960 onwards she has been coming back to her former glory. Lucy over the years has even been used as a beer garden but is now an important historical landmark on the atlantic ocean. Before we took the 30 minute tour of Lucy we had lunch and after all of this we drove north along the coast to Long Beach Island and as we always do there we went to the lighthouse in Manahawkin and then drove downtown to have a look around. It is just before the summer season so it was completely quiet despite the nice weather and there was not much happening. We spent a nice time by the beach and set back home on the 2 1/2 hour drive. A pleasant if maybe uneventful Sunday afternoon was had ny all.

Dublin Airport departure gate.

2007-04-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

The day came around as it always does and after a very pleasant 9 days in which the time did not fly by as most holidays do and it seemed like a solid 9 days.
A lot was done in those 9 days the first night being the Saw Doctors and I surpassed all expectations of how the day would go. The started with saying good bye to Jill and ended with saying good night to Vinnie Mc Mullen some 17 hours later and I was mostly awake for all of it, in between there was my fellow flight passengers in row 34 D/E/F making an already bad flight worse by their thigh fat encroaching onto my alloted seat and then there was my family and then there was Colm and the gig and an auld taxi driver with a tour of Dublin and we only had to get to the Eleanora pub and then there was Mick Walsh, Leigh and Richie Micheau, and Vinnie and Colm. The rest of the time was spent with family and visiting such places as Pheonix Park and the Dublin Zoo and Glendalough.

If I am being truthful I had found the preceding year without any actual meetings with my family very toughas they had not been able to get over to America in the last year with my mother retiring and stuff like that that. It was a tough time not withstanding the attention that Jill and Marc give to me, they are the best Wife and Son I could ever hope for. Last year had been tough to say goodbye and this time would only be slightly easier. As it went down we did not have enough time to hang around and I found it easier to quickly but sencerly say goobye to all that had come to send me off. In everyone's own way I could tell that they had missed me and genuinely will miss me until we all meet up again. It is a big regret that I could not get to see a lot of you in person as time was a real enemy on the trip...those of you at Repro (and you know who you are) I would have loved to have done a chip run or even play a game of don...if I was allowed -although I seriously doubt that.!!!

I later had heard that they could still see me as I passed through the security scanner check and placed my shoes back on my feet...if only I would have looked back one more time. Laden with gifts from Ireland for family and work I set off for gate B34. I remembered the satisfaction of landing on Irish soil and for now at least for a year I bid Ireland a fond farewell. Jaysus I do wax lyrical don't I.

Those who abuse others on the roads.

2007-04-27T19:35:00.000-07:00

It has become more and more obvious to me that there are a lot of assholes driving on the roads and highways near where I live. I can no longer speak for Ireland as I have been away for a few years and every year I do go back it has changed a lot.
But in my everyday dealings with other drivers I have found a serious level of asshole driving. Those who are desperate to get past you even though afterwards they will be only a car length in front of you. Everyday at regular intervals you have police parked in at the side of the highway monitoring the speed people are doing. So of course you get this speed well over the limit until a cop is seen then you have this brake down to legal speed and so you have this stop start stuff going on. People always seem to tailgate so close in fact that you cant see their headlights and then last Friday, my personal pet piss off peeve when I had complete right of way making a sweeping downhill slight left this dick completely cut across me and I had to break orelse I would have clipped the back of him and to make matters worse his passenger waving at me in an unfriendly almost taunting manner as if to say screw you.

Making hay while the sun shines.

2007-04-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

Its a Friday night about 10.30pm and Jill's sleeping and Marc has just been put to bed. And usually I can't get onto blogger to post and while I tried here it did work. Hence my posting is being done now and I have a lot to post about. So I am going to post as much as I can to-nite.

Actually to-nite we were watching the tv show Punked with Ashton Kucher. The segment was punking some little known olympic swimmer, and noy did we all know she was an olympic swimmer as when it became apparent to her that she may actually get arrested ny these two burly policeman she made the point to say "I am an olympic gold medal winner". What an ego!!! as if to say that hey officer dont even think about arresting me as I am olympic swimmer and that small fact will help me. Is this what she will everytime a cop asks for her driver's license or stops her to check her tax. It was quite hilarious to see this and her belief that such things will play a significant part in her dealings with those who are supposed to protect and serve the people.

Glendalough....the glen of two lakes.

2007-04-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

During my trip to Ireland we went to Glendalough. It was a fabulously warm day about 22-25 degrees celsius and it was still only the first week in April. I went to Glendalough as a small kid and have not been there ever since and it is a small source of discomfort that in all the years I lived in Ireland I never did get to such places as this. It was a Thursday, the first of the month of April and it was to be a very warm day. We walked around the lake stopping for a long and leisurely time beside the lake and enjoying Adam's (my 1 year old nephew) enjoyment of the whole thing. We had a lunch first and by the time we had walked all around and rested by the lake it was time to get dinner late in the evening. As we were to get served and luckily with Adam sleeping through all of this it struck me that Ireland was now a very very prosperous country attracting all nationalities who come to work maybe seasonally and maybe for a long period of time in order for their families to have a better life. Didn't many of us Irish do the same in decades gone by? , and we thought nothing of it except the amazing brain drain that Ireland must have been suffering. Of course Ireland did experience the amazing lack of talent that our educational system was producing only for it to go to shores abroad. So as a nation lets enjoy and embrace what those cultures will bring to Ireland and not see it as a terrible negative. With prosperity brings social and economic changes and we should be glad that it is happening in Ireland. It is true to say that Ireland has become a very expensive country in which to live, but lets try to look at the prosperity that the country is going through, I never saw so much cranes in the city of Dublin and when I was a student working in Germany for a few Deutschmarks I had an invaluable experience. Life is to experienced in the most optimistic ways.

I shall return!...soon.

2007-04-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

There will then be a lot of backfilling of content and news and ranting and competitions and all that jazz. So keep checking back...I shall return.

Saturday sees my lucky streak continue.

2007-04-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Now maybe this is all a coincidence but last year when I came home I was backing the horses and I did unbelieveably well winning on my first 4 picks. This year was not different. On the Saturday of the LIncoln handicap I was sure that I knew I would pick "very wise" for the big one ..the opening flat meeting of the year as back in America I had looked at it quite closely and in advance on the thursday. I just had to pick the other races and sometime that morning I had said to Richie to back "very wise" going generally at 9/1. In all I had 8 bets of 10 euros each and the first of the day was Mister Hardy and that one won for me at 11/2. That was sweet ...I had recouped 65 of the 80 euros invested and still had 7 races in which to bag some more winners. Fran Berry an old friend of my brothers was given a shot on his best ride of the day Ardistan for John Ox, winning at 9/4 ....I was now in profit and my luck was further extended when "Very Wise" stole the Lincoln from the front and a handy draw. Leading for most of the way he was able to kick on and steal an advantage from 3 furlongs out. A good day indeed more than 100 euros in profit. Of course my brother got in too late as he had had trouble with a combination of trains and a hangover..still he had come to spend his time with me. Will my streak continue in 2008?

First day in Ireland brings the Saw Doctors.

2007-04-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

So what would youu have done if you realised that the Saw Doctors were due to play the Olympia around the same time you are coming to Ireland. Yes of course you would work the holidays around in such a manner that would enable you to take in the show.
The flight was later than expected manely due to the fact that we were something like 15th in line on the runway at Nuewark on the Thursday evening that i was flying out. I had checked in manually using the computer check in service and had picked my seat..."yes" I thought to myself as I picked the aisle seat right at the back of the plane..."I wont get much hassle there" as i got to my seat I soon realised that it was a couple and a somewhat overweight couple....they were Irish too. So not much room for me to sit in as the guy's fat roll next to me invaded my seat area. Oh joy! and also include the constant stream of people who came to line up for the toilets. So all in all it was a tiring flight and not much sleep just the type of sleep where your chin is the highest point of you body. So with the flight being delayed my Mam and sisters were beginning to wonder if I was on the flight at all. But eventually I emerged and saw everyone for the first time in nearly a year. My nephew Adam made strange for a fewminutes but he was soon into his mischevious ways laughing and happy...I would soon realise that this kid had a lot of energy and slept only when absolutely necessary.

After spending some nice time and having a nice "prodical son" meal I was off to meet Colm for the gig. The support act for the docs were very very good and fair play to the band they do give youth a chance and allow up and coming acts to get their air time. The Olympia was jumping and I was giddy with the buzz of an expected good concert which the Saw Doctors always provide. As was now customary with the present tour the guys took to the stage under the sound of the Star Trek intro and a very entertaining and complex football analogy which explained what position each member played in the bands "sporting" line-up.
Needless to say the show was excellent with each song being as good as the one before and solo performances from each member which were very memorable. The band left at the end and were cajoled into coming out for an encore of 6-7 more songs which lasted about 30-35 minutes . Mainly because of a youtube comment which was posted after the Philly gig concerning "red cortina" I was determined to re-capture that song however they never did play that song....a real shame as its one of my favourites.

At the end of the show was all filed out and in front of us was a son and father who had been given the set list of the gig and they nearly shit themselves when Colm pretended to take it out of their hands yelling "e-bay" but they replied that it would be framed and kept as a source of pride.

After the gig it was on to meet up with the lads mentioned above ...but first we were taken on a tour of Dublin by a gormless taxi who transpired to be related to the jockey Catherine Gannon, man alive a small world indeed. A few scoops were had and a lot of fun indeed after the drinking we went to a chinese take away and got some grub and then as people peeled off home I was left with Vinnie Mc and we called into a friend of his and probably outstayed our welcome after having been welcomed with a lot of hospitality, I said good night to Vinnie and got a taxi home it was 4am when I got my head down.....it had been a long first day in Dublin Ireland. But all the same a great day to start my holiday with.

Holiday re-cap.

2007-04-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

So folks I am back from my trip to Ireland, it was a good time spent with family and friends and I do apologise that I didnt get around to seeing some of you and I wasnt able to drop into Repro to visit my old work colleagues. At the start of my visit I met up with some old friends...Colm, Vinnie, Richie, Leigh , Dave and Mick Walsh in the Eleanoraand each day was full of things to do and places to go to...so in that sense it was a very full week and indeed after flying back yesterday I was really flaked tired and jetlagged. I am just thankful that today in work things are kind of quiet.

Playing catch up and days are ticking by.

2007-03-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, I know that my posts have become more and more rare and I am sorry about that. This does not mean I have suddenly become more boring than I ever was before, it simply means that I have not been able to find the time to post as right now I am involved heavily in the design department working in a room with 3 other people and this seriously cramps my writing capability. So here I am on Tuesday afternoon (evening in Ireland) endeavouring to catch up to some extent. Its particularly bad when your most loyal reader (the wife) stops asking "did you blog today"?. It is something I have found very satisfying and something which was started to keep my friends and family informed as to our activities has now become a very worthwhile hobby. Damn it I have now joined the ranks of those who blog about all thing sports well mostly all things Arsenal.

By now I am really looking forward to my impending trip to "the motherland". Jill keeps saying that she will really miss me when I am going over in what now will 9 days, and of course I will miss her too. It is however a source of excitement to get to visit with family and friends and catch up on old times and revisit old friends. Days are ticking by....

Finally got to a Saw Doctors gig.

2007-03-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have been reading since last year, will remember Friday October 13th 2007. That was the day the docs were supposed to play a gig at a high (secondary) school. However and due to a freak snow storm they could not get from upstate New York Buffalo to the gig in Bethlehem Pennsylvania.
Last night Jill and I finally got to see them play, it was a great pity that Marc could not come as it was over 21's. I took off early from work 4pm and with daylight savings time it was a beautiful day. Drove 40 minutes to get Jill and we set out for the 80 miles drive to Philadelphia. With minor traffic in rush hour we got to the genral area of the gig the Theatre of the Living Arts. Situated on south street this was very similar to the streets of Dublin in termes of how close the streets are all single lane one way traffic which made for having to become familiar with the area. Having found the venue and having time to do it, we set out to find Genos Cheesesteaks a must do when in the area. Very nice meal.

Here it is on you tube.

2007-03-01T09:25:00.000-08:00