Winter in Michigan - Posted by Lisa

Sure, it's cold. Like, reeeaaally cold sometimes. But one thing I love about winter in Michigan is this...
When I see the sun shining on newly fallen snow, I can't help but notice just how beautiful it is!

Plus...they love it.

Podcasts - Posted by Chris

Over the past year I've become more and more dependent on my iPod. I primarily listen to podcasts and some audiobooks. I listen in the car, sometimes at work (if I'm doing some mindless task) and I even listened while I got my allergy shots today.

I thought I'd share some of my favorite podcasts (at least the ones that I think will appeal to a wide audience). If you have an iPod and are using iTunes to sync just click on the links below to go to the podcast directly in iTunes. If you don't have a iPod and want to listen on your computer, iTunes is a quick and easy way to do so. All of the podcasts listed are completely free. You can listen to any of the podcasts without subscribing however if you like the podcast you can subscribe to have iTunes download new episodes automatically.

This American Life
This podcast is a re-broadcast of the popular public radio program. Each episode is a series of stories set on a common theme. Hosted by Ira Glass, this is probably one of the best radio show on the air today. Listening via a podcast is great because you can choose the time that best fits your schedule. The only draw back to this podcast is that the iTunes store only has the most recent episode available.
If you don't want to listen via the podcast you can also visit http://www.thislife.org/ to play episodes directly from the show's web site.

The Moth
The Moth features true stories told live onstage without notes. Most of the stories on The Moth are less than 20 minutes long and very engaging. iTunes currently has about fifteen episodes available and the podcast is updated every Monday. Unfortunately The Moth is only available for download as a podcast (i.e. you can't play it directly from their website.) Also if you listening via iTunes please note that some of the episodes are marked "Explicit".

Radio Lab
Another public radio show, Radio Lab is a bit quirky and the subject matter can get a bit deep however the stories are very informative. If you happen to check this one out and can't quite "get in it", try a different episode (I recommend listening to Diagnosis). Radio Lab can also be found at their website: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/.

This list is just a small sample of some of the great content that is freely available via the Internet. iTunes is a great place to find more podcasts. All the podcast I listed are audio podcast, however there are lots of great video podcasts too (video podcasts are usually much larger in size.)

If you listen to any of my picks, leave me a comment and let me know what you think. Does any one else have a favorite podcast?

Unwanted Guest - Posted by Chris

Today, Lisa and I decided it was finally time to move the crib and changing table out of Ian's room. He hasn't used either in sometime and to be perfectly honest we've been kind of procrastinating on this work. Once everything was prepped, Lisa and I began moving everything into the spare (unfinished) room above our garage. Suddenly Lisa let out a little scream and ran from the room. She had discovered a dead bat.

We don't know when the bat had died and as a point of full disclosure we had problems with bats last summer. Let's hope that this is the last. Guess I'll call the exterminator tomorrow and see if there is anything he wants me to do.

Flashback Friday - Schoolhouse Rock Edition - Posted by Chris

Here's this Friday's Flashback.

From Lisa
Schoolhouse Rock - I'm Just a Bill



From Chris
Schoolhouse Rock - Conjunction Junction

Cool Web Site - Posted by Chris

I ran across this web site on Friday and thought I'd share. The web site has various articles on recycling and saving energy, however I think one of the best features is a search tool for finding locations to recycle everything from batteries to motor oil.

Check it out at http://www.earth911.com

Flashback Friday - Posted by Chris

Lisa and Chris proudly present our second Flashback Friday. Today's flashback is a tribute to Saturday nights and the late Ricardo Montalbán. Enjoy.

The Love Boat



Fantasy Island

Movie Quotes - Answers - Posted by Chris

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Gandalf: "You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun! Go back to the shadow. You shall not pass!" - Gandolf

Blade
Blade: "We're gonna play a little game of twenty questions. Depending on how you answer, you may walk out of here with a tan?"

Bridge over the River Kwai
Commander Shears: "I'd say the odds against a successful escape are about 100 to one. But may I add another word, Colonel? The odds against survival in this camp are even worse."

Cars
Mater: "Nah, not me, Flo. I'm on one of them there special diets. I am a precisional instrument of speed and aeromatics."

Citizen Kane
Charles Foster Kane: "Rosebud"

The Godfather
Don Corleone: "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Yoda: "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."

Saving Private Ryan
Paratrooper Mandelsohn: "We missed our drop zone by about 20 miles, ended up way over by Bumville or some damn place. "

The Princess Bride
Inigo Montoya: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Norrington: "Gillette, Mr. Sparrow has a dawn appointment with the gallows. I would hate for him to miss it."

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Knight: "We want a shrubbery!"

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Walter Donovan: "Germany has declared war on the Jones boys."

Trail of the Pink Panther
Insp. Jacques Clouseau: "Look, I know what I mean, you lunatic. Now do you, or do you not have for me, the 'massage'?"

The Matrix
Morpheus: "This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."

Bonus
Roman Holiday
Princess Ann: "Is this the elevator?"
Joe Bradley: "This is my ROOM!"

De-Cabled (almost) - The Plan - Posted by Chris

In an effort to cut our monthly bills, Lisa and I have begun researching our options in reducing our cable bill or de-cabling. Where does this idea come from? In part from Jeff MacArthur's blog, Decabled and also thanks to our cable company's ever increasing prices.

Our experiment, if we go forward, won't completely cut cable from our home. Where we live, the cost of Internet access from DSL or Cable is roughly the same. Additionally we will need some kind of local television access which is necessary for general news and weather alerts (sorry weather.com but nothing beats Jerry Hodak telling us exactly where the bad weather is headed.) I realize that I can get broadcast television channels from an antenna, however with the digital television transition just around the corner, we would need several converter boxes as we don't own any digital televisions.

Here's where we stand right now. We currently get Internet access, digital cable tv and home telephone from our cable provider, Comcast. We are considering dropping home telephone and reducing our digital cable to limited basic cable (i.e. only local channels); Internet access would remain unchanged. This change would save us about $72 per month or $864 per year.

The obvious question is, how would we replace the services that we are losing. Well, our home telephone would be replaced by cell phones (which we already pay for) and possibly Skype. As for television, we would still have network channels, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and PBS and most of the remaining shows that we would no longer receive are available via the Internet. The key population in our household that would be most affected is under the age of six. The loss of channels like Noggin, Disney and Nickelodeon would most likely cause some initial strife, however since our kids are young I'm sure they will easily adjust if we provide other options.

If we move forward with our plan, I'll post more details regarding our efforts and how our plan is working.

Something New - Posted by Chris

I decided to try something new with the comments on the blog. All new posts will have a new comment system called, DISQUS. One of the benefits of this new comment system is that you can now use your Facebook login (if you have one) to post comments to our blog.

We'll see how it works, post some comments and let us know.

Flashback Friday - Posted by Chris

Lisa and I have decided to try something new. Each Friday we'll post something from our memories of growing up. Hopefully for everyone from our generation and older these posts will bring back fond memories of your own, for everyone younger probably a good laugh. Enjoy.

From Chris

Mr Microphone




From Lisa

Faygo Boat Song Commercial

This one is definitely a regional thing, but I'm not sure just how far outside Michigan it went. For those who remember though, I hope it brings back some good memories. Now I could go for a Red Pop. :)

Movie Quotes - Posted by Chris

Disclaimer: I stole this idea from my nephew, Nathan.

Below are 15 (plus 1 bonus) movie quotes from some of my favorite movies. See how many you can guess. Feel free to enlist the help of family and friend however please do not cheat and use the Internet. I'll post the answers next week in the meantime please post comments with your guesses or even just how many you think you got right.


The List
1) "You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun! Go back to the shadow. You shall not pass!"

2) "We're gonna play a little game of twenty questions. Depending on how you answer, you may walk out of here with a tan?"

3) "I'd say the odds against a successful escape are about 100 to one. But may I add another word, Colonel? The odds against survival in this camp are even worse."

4) "Nah, not me, Flo. I'm on one of them there special diets. I am a precisional instrument of speed and aeromatics."

5) "Rosebud"

6) "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

7) "No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."

8) "We missed our drop zone by about 20 miles, ended up way over by Bumville or some damn place."

9) "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

10) "Gillette, Mr. Sparrow has a dawn appointment with the gallows. I would hate for him to miss it."

11) "We want a shrubbery"

12) "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

13) "Germany has declared war on the Jones boys."

14) "Look, I know what I mean, you lunatic. Now do you, or do you not have for me, the 'massage'?"

15) "This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes."

BONUS
Princess Ann: "Is this the elevator?"
Joe Bradley: "This is my ROOM!"

Good Luck

Dry Spell - Posted by Chris

For about two months, Lisa has been the exclusive contributor to this blog. This is due in part to her attempted NaBloPoMo and my being very busy. I decided it was time for me to start posting again.

In December our blog took a dramatic dip in the number of posts. The obvious reason would be the holiday season, however I think another culpit is to blame; Facebook. Why Facebook you might ask? Well traditionally Lisa and I have used this blog to communicate with friends and family. In December we both discovered Facebook (or rather joined the millions people who found it first.) As a result we've used Facebook to communicate a lot with our family and friends. I realized today that neglecting our blog is unfair to everyone who has followed but might not be one of our Facebook friends.

So starting today, I'm going to challenge my partner (both in blogging and marriage) to see if we can both post at least once per week. Hopefully we can do better however two posts a week is better than two a month!