Greetings from Orlando, Florida!

So, yeah, just wanted to let everybody know what Brittan and I have been up to recently.  The most notable event is that I HAD to come down to Florida for a work-related training conference - so I brought Brittan with me.  We came down a couple of days early and went to Disney World.  The picture below is just a very small sampling of what is to come.

We'll be getting back home tomorrow and I'll have to see about getting some videos and more pictures posted.

Has anyone seen my terrible towel?

In December of 1975, Myron Cope, the radio announcer for the Pittsburgh Steelers, introduced to the world an item that would become one of the most infamous (or famous, depending on which side of the fence you are on) symbols in all of sports.  That item is, of course, the world's first "rally towel," The Terrible Towel.

I think it should be noted here that this is far more than just another meaningless sports gimmick.  Did you know that Myron Cope had an autistic son?  Well, he did, and so when the terrible towel took off in popularity after the Steelers won a Super Bowl later that season, he determined that he would use that popularity to benefit a cause close to his heart.  Since very early in its existence, part of the proceeds from every officially-licensed terrible towel sold go to the Allegheny Valley School, which provides care and education for over 900 people with mental or physical disabilities.  This continues even after the death of Myron Cope, who died on February 27th of last year (2008).  So, supporting the Steelers also supports a very good cause.

Now for my dilemma - I want a terrible towel.  I have been to several sports stores in the area and they are all out.  Go figure - the Steelers win a Super Bowl, and everybody wants to buy another terrible towel for their collection.  They aren't that expensive, at about $7-$8 each.  Now, for me, it's just a matter of locating one.  I would order one online, but I have a couple of problems with that:  1) It takes the fun out of finding one in person; and 2) Rumor has it that the internet is out of them, too.

If any of you out there have a chance as you are passing by a local sports-gear store to take a look, and you happen to see one of these precious treasures, please let me know immediately - I will make it worth your while...Well, maybe I should check with Brittan first...

So full..Ugh! Or, Counting Myself Lucky.

For those of you who do not know, my dear sweet wife is an amazing cook.  Besides a couple of minor lapses of judgment when we were engaged involving the 5-second rule and food that ended up on my plate, she has proven to me that she can prepare and serve a mean meal.

Lately, that has become ever so much more apparent.  Ever since she quit working and went back to school full-time (something she hasn't done since high school), she has been trying to fill her time with productive activities.  This last couple of weeks she has decided to make cooking her new hobby.  I say cooking, but I really mean "everything that can possibly be done in the kitchen," including baking, broiling, etc.

Of course, my initial impression was the same as that of any other husband who ever finds himself so lucky as to be present during his wife's development into a domestic goddess:  I was very happy.  It all began with her searching for "yummy" recipes online, then it snowballed into the purchase of five more cook-books (including one that apparently had sentimental value), along with the ingredients to make enough food to feed the two of us for approximately 2 months with just the desserts alone.

As you can see from the diagram above, "Fats, Oils & Sweets" are in the smallest part of the food pyramid.  They are also the principal ingredients in any dessert with any detectable level of tastiness.  And even though the argument could be made that cookies contain grains, which are in the biggest part of the food group, let's face it - desserts are not a health food.  Unfortunately.  I have also found out that too many desserts at once are not so good for the digestive system...Oh well, I won't be making that mistake again (who are we kidding, of course I will).

The most impressive thing about this is that Brittan has never, in the two-and-a-half years we have been married, been on a cooking spree like this before.  I emphasize the "like this," because she has, as I mentioned before, always been an excellent cook and has made some of the most delectable food creations to ever grace my tongue.  But before, we always had time to finish the leftovers from the previous creation well before the next one was made.  This time, she has too many ideas she wants to try to give me time to finish the leftovers.  Appetizers, entrees, desserts - you name it, we have plenty of them, or the ingredients to make some more, or both.

So, this leads me to the big question:  is there anybody that needs dinner plans?  We've got plenty to go around!

True Confessions of a Fanatic

First off, I have to start by mentioning something that most people know about me:  I am a huge fan of the Utah Jazz.  This generally doesn't surprise people, since I grew up in Utah - of course I would have some affinity to the local major league sports franchise.  It's interesting that I never did have the opportunity growing up to follow them as much as I would have liked, but I always followed as closely as I could.  Once again, no surprise.

What generally comes as more of a surprise to people is that I am at least as big of a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I have been since I was fairly young.  I still remember listlessly watching them get crushed at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX, back when Neal O'Donnell and Kordell Stewart were on the team.  It should therefore come as no surprise that I look on the Cowboys with something between disgust and contempt.  I also remember my then-future father-in-law secretly tuning in to Super Bowl XL every so often to watch his Seahawks (my in-laws are from the northwest) lose to Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis.

My love for the Steelers really stems from my father.  Although he wasn't as big of a sports fan as some other members of his family, he grew up in the Pittsburgh area and so had an affinity for the major-league teams of the steel city.  As an off-shoot of this, I am also a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Pirates, although I didn't ever really care enough for baseball or hockey growing up to follow them.  Of course, the Pirates have also been horrendous in recent years, so there wasn't much worth following.

At any rate, I just wanted to take this opportunity to tell everybody who cares to know that, even though I probably won't watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, I will be checking to see who wins.  I have no doubt that Big Ben, Willie Parker, Heath Miller, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and that amazing defense will come through for us members of Steeler Nation yet again!

A Step Back in Time?

I found this interesting contraption while I was surfing the web today and thought maybe somebody else might find it as interesting as I did.

Above all else, I find it interesting that, in this day and age, when high-quality digital music is so easy to obtain and enjoy, there are still companies out there that produce "outdated" equipment that can produce such high-quality sounds. Never mind the fact that one of these will set you back about $64,000, or enough money to buy nearly 180 solid days' worth of music on iTunes.

It's Also Official...Kind of...

So...I announced a few weeks ago that I had graduated from Utah State University.  Well, as of today (December 29, 2008) I know that I am also admitted into the University of Utah.  It has only taken twice as long for me to find out as they told me it would.  Also, even though my academic advisor in the College of Engineering at the U has told me I have been admitted, the admissions office still has not "fully processed" my admissions, so I can't access any of the websites in order to add classes, apply for financial aid (if necessary) or do anything else...So yeah...

I guess that waiting for things to process may be one of those things that I have to get used to now that I am going to a much bigger school.  I put together some quick artwork to express my feelings at this very moment: