Gas, gas everywhere as long as you pay more than $3

It is interesting that after moving to North Carolina 2 months ago, our total expenses for gas for the month is about the same as it was in New York even though we do less driving. It costs us about $45 to fill up our tank. Gas prices are getting rediculous and it seems that noone is wiling to actually do anything about it. There is an article on the CNN website "Your solutions: Easing pain at the pump" that was entertaining if nothing else. They asked people to email their ideas about solving the gas problems.
I like what one person suggested:

How about tax breaks for carmakers who produce fuel-efficient and/or alternative fuel cars, and for the consumers who purchase and register them?

I don't think that anyone is doing enough to try and get people to switch to hybrid or alternative-fuel cars. They are still very expensive and not readily available. Car makers have no incentive to switch because they are more expensive and lets face it, most people can hardly afford waht they have. Worse that just that is that I haven't seen any mini-vans yet with the hybrid option. For me, I need the van because of my 4 children. It is going to take a larger effort to make the shift away from gas. Remember that the oil companies have big reasons not to have cars switch to alternative fuels.

Technorati Tags: Gasoline, Cars, Alternative fuels, Oil

Legacy of Barry Bonds

First, let me say that I am not a fan of Barry Bonds. I think that his personality forces you to like him or not. He makes no apologizes for his attitude. That is one of the reasons why I don't want him to capture one of the most hallowed records in baseball, the most career home runs. Everyone cheered Cal Ripkin when he passed Lou Gehrig's records of consecutive games played because of his character and his attitude when it came to the game of baseball. The difference between these 2 men is like night and day. I have not even discussed the issue of whether Barry was using steroids or not. In my opinion, he would still have most of the home runs that he hit either way. But if Barry was doing steroids, I think that its affect would be more for his longevity in playing the game which would help him in giving him more years to total up the home runs. I doubt that the answer will ever truly come out. Steroids cannot make you swing the bat better, it may help you to hit the ball farther but it cannot improve you mechanics which I concede that Barry has. But if you see the way that he is playing today, you start to wonder that if he was on steroids and now is not, it would provide a rational explanation for his current condition. His legacy as it stands is going to be that there will be a asterisk in people's minds next to his name when they look at the list of home run hitters.

Technorati Tags: Baseball, Barry Bonds, Steroids, Home Runs

In full bloom

I decided that Saturday morning was a good time to snap some pictures of the landscaping around our house. I dropped mom off to the airport early in the morning and after getting a little more sleep, got up and took the dogs for a walk. The rain had not come yet so everything looked calm and the flowers were opening up. We have a wide assortment of flowers. But there are a lot of Iris's around the yard. I took a few shots of the front and back to give a little idea of the landscaping.

By the street we have a patch of Morning Glories and a few Irises. Closer to the front porch we have all kinds of plants and flowers including Lamb's Ear, Mint, and Hanging roses.
On the other side of the driveway are some rose bushes with several different colors. So far I see red, yellow and orange roses. I will know the rest soon.
In the back by the pond are more Irises of a least 2 varieties. I have to admit that while I am not good with identifying the different flowers and plants, I appreciate the look and design of the yard with what is planted. Maybe with time I will be able to do a better job of identification. Right now I trust in others with more experience. I hope that I can continue to take care of the landscape as good as the previous owners. Click here to see more pictures.

Technorati Tags: Family, Flowers, Landscaping, Iris, Morning Glories, Roses

Field trip to the stars

On Monday, my children were off from school. So we took a little field trip of our own and went to the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center on the campus of UNC.
We had heard about a show that they had going on that we knew would be perfect for the kids. Evan, who is 7 years old, is really into reading the Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne. The Planetarium has a show going on for the new book "Magic Tree House Space Mission" so it mixed 2 of his passions, the Magic Tree House books and space. Simon, who is 6, is also totally into space and has the advantage of having his old brother read the books to him. The books have 2 main characters, Jack and Annie, and a tree house that magically appears and takes them to different places to find answers to questions that they have been given. I have to say that I enjoyed it almost as much as my children. They were talking about it the whole ride home. This is something that I would recommend for anyone to see.

Technorati Tags: Family, Morehead Planetarium, Mary Pope Osborne, Magic Tree House

What's in a name?

Rogel writes in his blogabout the importance of naming his child.

Growing up I began to understand that there is, in this family legend, more than just an old mans desire to demonstrate illustrious lineage. This legend was intended to teach me about the history of my family, about the importance of naming and remembering past generations.

The name that you choose for your child can mean different things for each culture. For my own family in Norway the name you chose would affect the last name for the next generation. If your name was Hans Olsen and you named your son Olaf, your son's name would send up being Olaf Hansen meaning "Son of Hans". The first name would be used in the last name of the next generation. I think that the importance of names in regards to your heritage is being lost for some people in this generation. A name should be something that defines you. And it is great if you pick a name that has ties to your family history. For my children, we did not choose names necessarily from the ancestors but chose names with a particular meaning. After having 2 miscarriages, my daughter Celeste was born. Her name means "From the heavens" and to us she truly is a blessing from the heavens.
I think that a name should help tell something about you whether it is something about your ancestry or what you parents see in you.

Technorati Tags: Family, Baby Naming, Ancestors

The reason to move

Rogel in his blog brings up an interesting point that may only scratch the surface of the reasons we left New York but shows the growing trend that is immediately noticed when arriving here in North Carolina. The main reason for leaving New York was not taxes but did become one of the many contibuting factors in our decision. The truth to the graph which shows where people are migrating to is definitely true as far as the type of people moving into North Carolina. On my block, most of the people are transplants from the Tri-state area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut). Some of the main reasons that we left were the cost of living, overcrowding, schools and wanting a different pace of life. Staten Island is especially bad as far as the population. It is becoming more crowded by the day and the whole look of the island is changing in a bad way. I would advise that lower taxes should not be the only reason to move. Moving is a very stressful thing to do to yourself so you should be very clear and sure of your reasons for doing so.

Technorati Tags: Moving, Cost of Living, Taxes

It is all about RESPECT

I love North Carolina. One of the big differences between North Carolina and New York is how the people treat each other. The first day in our new house, we had neighbors coming over to say hello and welcome us to the neighborhood. As I took the dogs for a walk people driving by would wave that I had never seen before. In New York, the only thing that a complete stranger would wave at you is the middle finger! The businesses here also treat you very differently. We bought a mattress from a store in town and the owner brought it by the next night on his own and since we did not have a bed frame yet, he brought us a metal frame to use until ours came in. The car dealerships have an are set up for kids with games and a TV so that the adults can look at the cars and talk with the salesperson without being interrupted. My bank actually called today to see how everything was and if I had any problems or questions about my account. Now that is service! It is so nice to have people treat you with respect instead of just a piece of meat with a wallet. It really is all about respect. When you respect others, you treat them differently than you would if you did not respect them at all.

Technorati Tags: North Carolina, Respect

We're not in New York anymore Todo!

We moved down to North Carolina on February 28th. Early in the morning we packed everyone and everything into our Honda Odyssey with the U-haul on the back and started down the road. 2 Adults, 3 kids, 1 4 week old infant, 2 dogs and 500 miles to go. What were we thinking? It took us around 13 hours to reach Raliegh, with stops for food, gas and the bathroom. But we made it. After closing on the house, we pulled up to our house in Wake Forest for the first time as owners. It was exciting and the kids loved the treehouse in the back. Our joy was tempered by the bad news that there were troubles with the moving truck and it would be a few days before we would get our things. What a headache! The kids slept in sleeping bags on the floor and we slept on air mattresses. We ate off of paper plates and had to buy ice to put in a cooler so that we could have a few food items in the house since the refridgerators were on the moving truck. The truck finally came on Friday and then the real fun began. Boxes, boxes everywhere and you can never find what you are looking for. I will post before and after pictures of the rooms as we paint and set everything up in the house. For now we are settling down and have foudna church that we like. It is Hope Lutheran Church in Wake Forest. It is bigger that what we are used to but the people are very friendly and nice and have welcomed us with open arms.

Technorati Tags: Moving, Hope Lutheran Church, Wake Forest