The Bicycle Rack

Virtual Reality Memorial Day

2007-05-28T19:02:00.000-05:00

As an attempt to focus some on the reason why we observe Memorial Day, I spent some time today with friends playing an XBox 360 game titled "Call of Duty 2". This video game is a first person shooter set during World War II. You play as a person who is a soldier involved in different combat missions that took place during the war.

As I played and watched others play the game I was struck by the atmosphere of the game. Bullets whizzing and flying through the air, grenades going off all around, members of your platoon getting hit and going down right next to you, etc. It seemed very noisy, very intense, very scary, and very realistic. I tried to envision what it would be like if this was for real.

I know it was only a game but I feel as if it gave me a little bit more of an appreciation for those who served in battle and paid for our freedom with their lives.

Pirates 3

2007-05-25T16:15:00.000-05:00

The streak has ended. This week I saw a good movie, not a great movie.

I was somewhat disappointed in Pirates 3. I enjoyed it, but it was not as good as I was hoping it would be. In fact, at times I was confused as to who was doing what and why. The action, fight scenes, and special effects were very good, but the plot was quite a mess.

After you see it, let me know what you think.

Shrek The Third

2007-05-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

Another weekend, another great movie.

We went to see Shrek the Third with the Walkers yesterday and had a great time. The movie was very funny, which I was thankful for since I had heard many critics were saying it was not good. But our group enjoyed it immensely. Then we dined at Fuddruckers where a good time was had by all. I always enjoy the Shrek movies because they throw in some good life lesssons in between the farting and belching.

For a good time, go see Shrek.

Spider Man 3

2007-05-12T15:37:00.000-05:00

I hope you have had a chance to see the record breaking movie Spider Man 3. It was even better than I had hoped. The action scenes were awesome, the special effects were amazing, and most surprising were the spiritual undertones to the plot. The parts that involved the black suit, revenge, and forgiveness were very interesting and led to a lot of deep discussions in the Hollar home and with friends.

Swing into the theater and check it out.

MS 150 Bike Ride

2007-05-07T05:14:00.000-05:00

The first weekend in May I participated in the MS 150 bike ride. Thanks to everyone who supported me with their money, encouragement, and support.

The ride started Saturday morning in Frisco, so Michael Lea and I got up early that morning, hitched up our bikes to the trailer hitch rack on my truck, and were off to join about 3,000 other riders at the start line in Frisco.

One of the biggest differences in this ride and all of the other rides I have done is the team concept. Almost every single rider is a part of a team. I had been recruited by the CitiSlickers team at last years Goatneck ride so Michael and I parted ways and I met up with my team. The excitment was mounting as I donned my team jersey and waited for the start of the ride. Then I continued to wait and wait. The start takes a long time as each team is ceremoniously introduced and a few comments are made about each team.

Once the ride started I surprised myself by being able to keep up with my teammates at a pretty good pace. I had not trained for the ride as much as I had wanted to so I was unsure of how I would do on the ride. My best friend on the team is James Herrod. James and I rode together during the whole two days and had a great time. Thanks, James. I couldn't have done it without you.

We rolled along pretty good until we got somewhere in the 40+ mile range. Then we ran into some rain. I'm not a big fan of riding in the rain and in fact have done only one other ride while it was raining and on that one I finally turned around and stopped because it was just not fun. But James and some other guys on the team were wanting to press on so I reluctantly joined them. We made it to the 50 mile stop which was also the lunch stop so we took a well deserved break and enjoyed a nice rest and our lunch.

As we were about to mount up and finish the Day One ride we began to hear reports of how the weather up ahead was much worse and that there had been many accidents. We decided to stop for the day and SAG in the rest of the way. Now, typically, a SAG wagon is a passenger van with space in the back to store bicycles. And when you SAG in you simply get on the van with a few people and your bikes and they drive you to the finish line. But, as we were about to find out, when you are a CitiSlicker, you SAG in style.

James and I put our bikes in the racks for transport to the finish line at Texas Motor Speedway(TMS) and stood in line along with many others who had decided to SAG in. Then out of the corner of our eye we saw a limosine with a CitiSlickers logo on it. Apparently our team captain had rented this limo in order to ride in after lunch because she needed to be at our team tent by a certain time. We walked over to the limo and began to beg, grovel, and otherwise humiliate ourselves in anyway possible in the feeble hopes that they would allow us to ride in the limo with them. We were soon granted permission to join them and along with about 7-8 other team members we began the ride in to TMS. The looks on the other cyclists faces as we passed them in a limo was priceless. As we would pass other CitiSlickers team members we would roll down the windows and heckle them-all in good fun, of course.

Our decision to stop riding for the day was soon confirmed when we came upon a team member who had taken a bad fall on the rain slicked road. He was none other than our team Captain's father who was actually pretty badly injured. We were able to get him in the limo and get him medical assistance at one of the rest stops. Sadly, his MS 150 was ended as he had to spend the night in the hospital and was not able to ride on Day Two.

I was soon to experience another perk of being a member of a team when the limo pulled up to our team tent at TMS. The team tent is where the team gathers after finishing their Day One ride. In the tent there is much food, drink, fun, fellowship, places to rest, and even a chiropractor. I was especially overjoyed to see Michele and Meredith there at the tent. They had come to help at the tent, support me, spend time with me, along with us getting to spend the night together in the team hotel.

My work for the day was not done, however, as I had promised our team captain that I would perform an Elvis show in our team tent. With M & M's help I set up for the Elvis show and delivered a performance that everyone enjoyed. After the show I walked around to some other team tents dressed as Elvis and enjoyed much attention as many riders wanted their picture taken with Elvis. After Elvis came a nice dinner in the tent and then everyone pitched in to take down the tent and then we all adjourned to the Doral Tesoro Hotel for a nice night of rest and much needed sleep.

I began Day Two of the ride by meeting James at the start line after a breakfast of pancakes and bacon while M & M slept in and later indulged themselves with room service. Riders can start Day Two by taking a lap around the speedway but we elected to skip that part. It didn't take long for us to find out that Day Two was going to be a lot harder than Day One. Almost immediately we hit a long section of very rough roads. This impacted us greatly by reducing our average speed to a lot less than the first day. But we survived the bad roads and made it to the 30 mile lunch stop somewhere between 10:00-10:30 a.m. A little early for lunch but we stopped anyway to eat our share since any rider knows that food is the fuel that keeps those pedals turning.

After lunch we hit the section that we had been dreading since the start of the ride. Leaving the lunch stop, we turned south directly into a very strong head wind. I never heard the offical speeds of the wind that day but I'm guessing it had to be somewhere between 15-20 mph, if not more. We also began to encounter some pretty challenging hills. Our average speed dropped like a rock. But we pressed on, determined to go as far as we could go. We made it through the next rest stop but after that is where our final troubles began. James started to notice that he was having a very tough time and it seemed as if he was dragging big time. We stopped a couple of times to examine his bike and adjust his rear brakes to keep them from dragging and rubbing on his rear tire. At about mile 48 we stopped again and with the assistance of a couple of Ride Marshalls we discovered the real problem: his rear wheel was out of true and was rubbing against the side of the frame. James decided to SAG in to the next rest stop while I rode on to the next rest stop to meet him there. The mechanics at that rest stop could not fix his bike so he was done for the day. I was pretty tired, was not enjoying fighting the wind, and was not in good enough shape to face some of the hills that were still to come so I decided to call it a day myself after having done 50 miles.

James called his wife to come pick him up and I climbed aboard the SAG wagon. They originally told us that the SAG wagon would only take us to the next rest stop and then we would have to get into other vans at each rest stop until we reached the finish but the driver received a call on his radio telling him that he could take us all the way to the finish line in downtown Fort Worth. That was a nice bit of luck and helped me to get to the finish line sooner. As we SAGed in past the riders who were finishing and I watched them fight the wind and the hills I was happy with my decision to stop. If I had been able to train more I think I would have attempted to finish but I felt it would be foolish and very time consuming to try and finish in the condition that I was in.

So, I rode 100 miles of the 150 mile ride. I did back-to-back 50 milers, something I had never done before, I had a good time, and I helped raise a lot of money for MS. All in all a great weekend. I plan to do the ride again next year with the hope that I can complete the full ride on both days.

Scenes From A Retreat

2007-04-22T14:36:00.000-05:00

One of the first things we did after tax season ended was to go on a retreat with the junior high kids. Thanks to Russ Walker for these pictures. That's me, my daughter, and her friend in the canoe. And the other is a view of the pond there. It was nice to be outside some after being stuck in the office so much during tax season.

I'm not sure why the pics have "2006" on them. Maybe Russ was in the Twilight Zone when he took them.

Some Irish Humor

2007-03-05T14:46:00.000-06:00

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey."

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, “Never mind, I found one!”

Successfully Changed First Flat Tire

2007-02-27T05:57:00.000-06:00

Well, I got up this morning to ride and was all set to go out at 3:45 a.m. Just before putting on my riding clothes I checked my tires. My front tire was flat! I was about to blow off riding when I thought "Hey! I'll try and change the flat myself."

Now I've only changed one flat on my bike for a couple of reasons:

1. I have not had many flat tires. I think I have had only 4 flats, including the one today.
2. The only one I changed went flat the next morning so I obviously did something wrong. Since then, I have had the bike shop change my other flats.

Everything went pretty good. I got the tire off okay, I got the old tube out, put the new tube in, and got the tire and tube back on the rim. I struggled a little bit getting the last section of tire back on the rim but I think that's fairly normal as that is the hardest part of changing a flat anyway. I think I remember when I changed my other flat that I tried patching the tire instead of just putting in a new tube. That may have been where I messed up previously. It was much simpler and quicker to just replace the tube instead of messing with patching it.

To top it off I went ahead and compeleted my normal morning ride and ended up with a top 4 time and average speed for that ride. Guess I'll be changing my own flats more often!

Location Of My Next Bike Ride

2007-02-24T08:31:00.000-06:00

Church Humor

2007-02-19T15:37:00.000-06:00

Inside Out

2007-01-31T04:36:00.000-06:00

Recently I heard a song on the radio called Inside Out by Eve 6.

The first part of the chorus stuck in my head:

I would swallow my pride, I would choke on the rhinds
But the lack thereof would leave me empty inside

Even though this is not a Christian song I couldn't help but think of the spiritual implications of these words. I had two thoughts.

1. We can be so full of pride that there is room for nothing else inside us.

2. If we can somehow "eat" away at our pride then we can make ourselves empty and that emptiness can be filled up with God.

It's so awesome how God can speak to you through different avenues.

Where Have All The Hard Workers Gone?

2007-01-29T16:18:00.000-06:00

A guy was supposed to come to work for us today as a Staff Accountant. He never showed up and never called us-even after I left him a voice mail. And this was AFTER calling us last Monday to confirm that he would be here today!!

And all of this comes on the heels of us firing another guy who would never show up for work. He would call in sick constantly. At least 1-2 times per week(usually more) from July-Dec '06 he would not make it in to work. And the last two work weeks he was our employee he missed 6 out of the 10 possible work days.

I don't want to sound like a grumpy old man here but what is the DEAL with these people??!! Get up out of bed, and get here!! And it's not like this is physically demanding work. I can't imagine what these dudes would be doing if they actually had to exert some energy lifting something or some such work.

I certainly admire the older generations of Americans. They knew what hard work was. They gave a honest days work for an honest days pay. And they worked at the same place for 30+ years. It just seems like things have changed for the worse. No one wants to work hard anymore.

So, if you know anyone with tax experience who is WILLING to work, let me know. I sure haven't had any luck finding them.

They Walk Among Us

2007-01-28T17:34:00.000-06:00

A guy bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying: “Free to good home. You want it, you take it.” For three days the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it. He eventually decided that people were too untrusting of this deal. It looked too good to be true, so he changed the sign to read: “Fridge for sale $50.”

The next day someone stole it.

Mental Health

2007-01-25T16:30:00.000-06:00

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness.

Think of your three best friends - if they're okay, then it's you.

Why, Why, Why

2007-01-24T15:25:00.000-06:00

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

Why do we never hear father-in-law jokes?

5 Things People Do Not Know About Me

2007-01-23T16:35:00.000-06:00

Danny Sims tagged me with the challenge to list 5 Things You May Not Know About Me.

I'm usually not very good at playing tag, but here goes anyway:

1. I was a guest DJ on 97.1 KEGL, the Eagle, back when the Eagle was cool. (I have the tape if you ever want to listen to it.)

2. I do not know how to juggle.

3. Back in 1989, Jerry Jones compared me marrying Michele to him buying the Dallas Cowboys and he said I got the better deal. (I still agree with him.)

4. I once played Charlie Brown on the stage.

5. I once stopped up a sewer.

I know, pretty lame. If I can think of some better ones then I'll revise this list later.

And now, the ones I'm tagging are:

Michele Hollar
Jennifer Meachem
Smockity Frocks
FtwSkies
Michael Lea

Big Bill Says Bye Bye

2007-01-22T12:12:00.000-06:00

Well, the waiting is over. Bill Parcells has made his decision and it's the one I was hoping for. He is NOT coming back as Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

I say "Good Riddance!" This is a coach that was 2-3 at the end of each season in his 4 years as the Cowboys coach. This is a coach that was 0-2 in the playoffs as the Cowboys coach. This is a coach that could never win the big games here, especially this year when he let the Saints and the Eagles beat him and blew a golden opportunity to win the division. This is a coach that lost a plyoff game this year to the Seahawks because he was too stubborn to change his plodding offensive ways and throw it down the field against a weak Seattle secondary. This is a coach who messed up at the game's most important position, quarterback. And this is a coach who would never even mention T.O.'s name, calling him "the player" instead.

I thought when Parcells signed on with the Cowboys that we were getting a coach that was a winner, knew how to win, and knew how to build a champion. Instead we got mediocrity, bad draft picks, bad free agent signings, and a bad feeling in my stomach thinking about the waste of time these last 4 years have been.

Good bye, Bill. I'm glad you're gone.

Things To Do With Spare Bicycle Parts

2007-01-20T11:41:00.000-06:00

For Cat Lovers Everywhere

2007-01-18T10:23:00.000-06:00

Cycling Snowman

2007-01-17T13:38:00.000-06:00

With today's snowfall it was time for that rare treat here in Texas - building a snowman.

Of course I had to give him The Bicycle Rack touch!

My Latest Bike Ride

2007-01-16T08:06:00.000-06:00

The weather around here has not been very good for bike riding lately, but I did manage to get out of town and get in a quick ride before Michele and Meredith got back from their trip.

Stuck in Pampa

2007-01-12T06:59:00.000-06:00

Looks like my ladies may be stuck in Pampa over the weekend due to bad weather. They had planned to come home tomorrow but I don’t think that’s going to happen.

It’s supposed to be freezing rain up there today and light wintry mix all weekend.

I miss them so much already. But I’m sure the Hughes family won’t mind that they’ll be staying for a few more days. MearBear has always wanted to be up there when it snowed so maybe this time she’ll get her wish.

I’ll be working tomorrow anyway so at least they’ll be having fun in Pampa instead of stuck at home while I’m at work.

M & M: Stay warm, have fun, be safe, and remember I love you bunches!

An Apple A Day . . . Someday Soon

2007-01-09T14:48:00.000-06:00

Just read about the coolest phone in the world. This thing may finally make me go over to the dark side. For years I've resisted the iPod craze (even though I'm a big gadget freak) because you can only get songs for it from Apple's iTunes store.

But the iPhone sounds pretty slick. It's all touch-screen technology. No buttons, no stylus, etc. It's supposed to be able to play music like an iPod, surf the net, text message, e-mail, and make phone calls. Instead of having a teeny tiny little keyboard like the Blackberry or the Q the keyboard keys will be touch screen keys that appear when you need them and disappear whenever you don't. The advantage to that is that the screen can be much bigger allowing for more to be seen. And it's supposed to be able to flip the image when you turn it on it's side. So you would get a wider screen that way which would make Internet surfing nicer.

The stuff I read made it sound like Cingular will be the carrier-which is great for me since I have Cingular now and like their service.

Got to hand it to Apple. They do design cool stuff. If this thing really will do all that Steve Jobs says it will then it will be a big hit.

Oh and the best part? It's supposed to be out in June! Just in time for my birthday and Father's Day.

Heartbreaker

2007-01-06T22:25:00.000-06:00

I just finished watching the wildest, weirdest Cowboys playoff game in my life.

Seeing Romo bobble the hold on the potential game winning field goal was UNBELIEVABLE. So many emotions went through my head then and are still swirling around even now. What's ironic is right before they snapped the ball for the field goal try I said to myself "Watch him miss it". (Talking about the kicker, of course.) It never even entered my mind that there would be a problem with the hold. I mean Romo has been holding on kicks for a long time and this may have been his first mess up. Talk about bad timing.

And to think that it was Romo who messed it up there at the end - the same Romo who played so well earlier in the year, who brought life back to this team, not to mention Romomania and Romomentum to the DFW area, and brought the team down the field to get in position to make a game winning kick. I felt so sick for him. You know that had to be killing him.

I've been a fan of his even before he became the starter. I wanted him to play more back when Vinny T was here. Back then I liked what I saw from him in the preseason and just had a feeling even then that he was going to be a good QB.

I still think he's got a great future as the Cowboys quarterback. He's young so he has a lot of upside. He's also going to have times when he plays bad and makes mistakes-like he did in December and tonight. But I think that his potential and talent far outweigh any negatives. He'll be back in the playoffs again. I'm sure of it.

It's just so weird for Romo's Cinderella season to end like that.

Help Me Help Others

2007-01-03T15:50:00.000-06:00

OK. Here’s the interactive part of The Bicycle Rack. Here’s where you get a chance to become a part of the amazing experience. Not just a spectator, but an active participant in what happens here at the Best Little Blog on the Road.

I am planning to ride in the 20th Anniversary of the Sam’s Club MS 150 Frisco to Fort Worth bicycle ride. But this is not just another ride. This is a two day ride. This is a 150 mile ride!! This is the longest ride I will have ever done. But there’s more to this ride than just my sore bottom.

This ride benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and their fight against the disease of MS. And, in order to do my part in the ride, I need to raise money. Every rider is required to raise at least $300. This is where you come in. You can help me in two ways:

1. Donate Money – On the right side of my blog is a section called “Tandem Ride” and in that section is a link where you can donate money to the National MS Society and it will be credited to me as the rider and fundraiser.

I’m calling this “Tandem Ride” because a tandem is a bicycle that is ridden with the help of another person-and that’s what’s happening here. I’m going to be riding this ride with the help of another person-YOU!

Also, please pass on this information to your family, friends, coworkers, exiled dictators, etc. Ask them to drop by The Bicycle Rack, invite them to check it out, and they can donate as well.

If you or yours are not comfortable with donating via the Internet then whenever you see me at church, riding along the street, doing yard work in my front yard, etc. then feel free to walk up to me and give me money. I will gladly accept cash, checks, gold bullion, and/or diamonds and precious emeralds.

And, as a CPA, I would be remiss if I did not remind you that all donations to the National MS Society are fully TAX DEDUCTIBLE to the extent allowed by law.

2. Encourage Me – Whenever you see me say things like “You can do it!”, “You’re not an idiot for trying to ride 150 miles in 2 days(back to back).”, “The numbness will go away after a couple of weeks, maybe.”, “You can do it”, and other encouraging things like that.

You can also send me encouraging cards in the mail, bake me “encouragement” cookies, buy me “encouragement” presents, etc. The point is for you to help me make it through the ride.

I’m not gonna lie. I’m a little nervous about trying to ride such a long distance over two days so any encouragement I can get will be a big blessing to me.

That’s it! That’s all you’ve got to do and you can be a part of a special event here at The Bicycle Rack. I appreciate your support, your donation, your interest, and your prayers. Please consider partnering with me to help this great organization in their fight against MS.

Happy New Rear!

2007-01-01T06:37:00.000-06:00

As we move from 2006 into 2007, I stop to reflect on my new hobby and passion, cycling, which I discovered in 2006.

I started off 2006 as I ended 2005 by riding my rides with a Trek 4300 mountain bike. For the month of January 2006 I rode my mountain bike in 12 rides for 77.66 miles at an average speed of 12.994 miles per hour.

At the end of January 2006 I began to realize that I was enjoying riding on-road more than off-road so I decided to buy a new road bike. Best decision I ever made! From my first ride on my new road bike-I was hooked. Now I enjoy riding often and I miss it when I go a few days and can't get in a ride.

Riding on my Trek 1200 road bike I completed 102 rides in 2006 for 1,645.56 miles at an average speed of 15.143 miles per hour. This consisted of many rides of my standard morning ride I try and do 3 times a week as well as numerous bike rallys throughout the year and various rides along the Trinity Trail.

My standard morning ride is about 10.10 miles. My best time on this ride was July 18, 2006 when I did it in 36.23 minutes at a 16.639 mph average.

My shortest ride was 4.72 miles on a very windy day on February 15, 2006 at 3:15 in the morning. I rode for awhile and then discovered I had a flat rear tire. I had to call Michele, wake her up, and have her come pick me up. What a great wife and supporter of my new hobby she is!

My longest ride was, of course, the Hotter N Hell Hundred when I rode 74.52 miles at an average speed of 15.626 mph on August 26, 2006

My best bike rally ride was the Cowtown Classic on September 9, 2006 when I set a new average speed record for rallys. I rode 41.97 miles at an average speed of 16.208 mph.

I thank God for allowing me to complete all of these rides without crashing and without sustaining any injuries. I also thank Him for bringing this fun form of exercise into my life. If you're looking for a great way to get some exercise then:

GET ON YOUR BIKE AND RIDE!

Also, be watching for an important announcement about how you can participate with me in my riding in 2007. Have a great year!

I Am The Champion!!

2006-12-26T06:02:00.000-06:00

I have won the Championship of my Fantasy Football league!

My team, the Cycling Cyclone, is the 2006 Champion of the Apostles Fantasy Football League.

I started this fantasy league 3 years ago with great support and participation from an awesome group of guys at church. I was Commish the first year but then the best Commish in the world, Jim Theisen, has been Commish these last two years.

I made the playoffs last year, but got knocked out early. This year in the playoffs I beat out: (a)last years champion, (b)this years 1st place finisher, and (c)the team that was the favorite during most of the season.

I AM THE CHAMPION!! I AM THE CHAMPION!! I AM THE CHAMPION!! (OF THE WORLD)

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas Songs

2006-12-06T16:19:00.000-06:00

Jim Theisen tagged me to list my favorite Christmas songs, so here we go:

12. You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft
The original version from the 1966 cartoon. Accept no substitutes!

11. Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives
This classic can be heard in the 1964 classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

10. Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney
Don't know any history behind it, but a great, upbeat Christmas song.

9. Let It Snow - Sinatra, Martin, Charley Pride, etc.
Lots of good versions of this one, but the three I have listed are my favorite.

8. Heat Miser/Snow Miser - Year Without A Santa Claus
Very funny song and the music video is great!

7. Feliz Navidad - Jose Feliciano
I don't speak a lick of Spanish but whenever this song comes on I can't stop dancing and singing along to the chorus.

6. Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me - Elvis Presley
One of his lesser known Christmas tunes that has a very lively catchy beat.

5. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
Great song, great scene in Home Alone, and probably the only classic Christmas song I've seen performed by the original artist. Brenda Lee sang at a summer festival in Garland, TX when we lived in Rowlett and we got to see her do this song live. Fun stuff.

4. Happy Birthday, Jesus - Brooklyn Tabernacle Children's Choir
MearBear was a toddler when this song came out and I just about cried everytime I heard it. I taught her to sing it and she was so cute!

3. It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Andy Williams
THE best version of this song.

2. Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
Great classic song and my father played in a band with him in the '50s before he got famous.

1. Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
It's Elvis, it's Christmas, it's got cheesy back up singers-what else do you want in a Christmas song.

Cowboys on a Roll

2006-12-04T16:08:00.000-06:00

The wins keep coming and so do the big games.

Romo-mentum has led the Cowboys to 8-4 after this weekend's victory over the New York Football Giants.

But don't relax just yet, Tony boy! The 8-4 Saints come marching in to Texas Stadium Sunday night and they're looking for a Big Easy first round bye just like the 'Boys are.

Should be a great game! It's just great to have the Cowboys playing meaningful, playoff implication type football in December.

Go Romo!

Romo Wasn't Built In A Day

2006-10-25T12:25:00.000-05:00

It's actually taken 4 years.

That's right, for 4 years Tony Romo has been a backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. But now, starting Sunday vs. the Panthers, he will be the starting quarterback charged with trying to help save this season as well as the future. Big Bill named Romo the starter today after too much T.O. from Bledsoe. (That's T.O. as in turnovers, not as in TO the big, loud mouth wide receiver.)

All I can say is: It's about time! I have felt all along that Romo should have gotten a chance to play a long time ago. Back in 2004 when Vinny (in)T was the QB, the Cowboys should have let Romo play in some of those games when it became obvious that the Cowboys were headed towards a losing season that eventually ended at 6-10. Instead Bill wasted all of that playing time on 42 year old Vinny who then was not even on the team the next year. Talk about a big time blunder. Big Bill has done nothing but mess up when it comes to the QB during his time here with the Cowboys.

Let's hope he's got it right this time or the future will be mighty bleak around here for Cowboys fans.

Air Force Pride

2006-10-02T08:46:00.000-05:00

My father was in the Air Force for 28 years so this is especially cool to me:

Anyone that loves photography will appreciate the precision of this photo. The jets are probably moving at around 200 mph and the photographer must be just right to get the shot at just the right instant. This is a hard formation to stay in. The ones in the "S" are just a little graduated degree behind the next one and staying that way to maintain the formation.

This is a great photo of an Air Force training squadron flying in a never-done-before "USA" formation over the control tower "Taj Mahal" (HQ building) of Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you; Jesus Christ and the American G. I. One died for your soul; the other for your freedom.

Thoughts for the Day

2006-09-30T11:48:00.000-05:00

Can you cry under water?
Why do you have to "put your two cents in". . . but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?
Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
What disease did cured ham actually have?

These thoughts taken from the Western Roto newsletter edited by A.Z. Rowland

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

2006-09-28T18:12:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I had my bottom widsom teeth removed. The one on the right came out pretty easy except for a piece that broke off and they had to pluck it out separate. The on on the left, however, was a problem. It did not come out easy and the guy had to pull and pull. He also had to push against my head with much force to get some leverage to get it out.

Needless to say that when the numbness wore off, the pain began. I did not expect it to hurt as much as it has. To make matters worse, the pain medication made me sick so I had to stop taking it on Sunday and just attack the pain with ibuprofen. Not very effective. Today is the first day I've actually felt normal with not much pain.

Another bad part of the experience was the face numbing. That was very annoying. I was glad when that wore off even though the pain kicked in.

Good luck to you if you ever have to endure this. I hope your experience is better than mine.

Would you do it?

2006-09-14T10:43:00.000-05:00

Saw a great article in the paper this morning. According to the article Six Flags Over Texas will let guests skip to the front of the Titan roller coaster line if they eat a live cockroach as part of their Fright Fest. You would also receive a pass to skip the lines on many other rides.

So my question is: Would you do it?

My answer is, Yes. I would do it, as long as I had some water or Coke to wash it down with!

Bledsoe throws away Cowboys season opener

2006-09-12T05:20:00.000-05:00

But hopefully not the whole season. I know it's only 1 loss, but the Cowboys were probably 1 loss vs. 1 more win from making the playoffs last year. When you only play 16 games, every loss counts big time. Especially in the NFC East. Now the 'Boys are already 1 game behind the Eagles for the division title.

Bledsoe played poorly, so I'm sure there will be cries for Tony Romo. I must admit I was thinking it myself after that 2nd interception. But Bledsoe was not the only problem. The O-line was bad, too many penalties wiping out big gains and points, and the defense did not play well.

Now the good thing for me is that I had already penciled this game in as a loss. I knew that the Jaguars have a good defense and that Leftwich is a pretty good QB. And the game was in Jacksonville. So I'm not surprised that the Cowboys lost, just disappointed. Especially since they got up 10-0 and should have been up 17-0. They let a great opportunity to win slip away. I hope that the Cowboys can get better at putting teams away when they have the lead. That's one of the things I miss about Jimmy's Cowboys. When they got the lead then Jimmy would go for the kill shot.

It's still early and I still think this can be a playoff team but they need to bounce back and beat the Redskins. Don't think you want to go into the Bye week 0-2.

9/11

2006-09-11T06:17:00.000-05:00

I feel like I’m the only blogger in the world not doing a tribute to a 9/11 victim. Does that mean I don’t care? No, it doesn’t. I just feel weird about jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to things like that. As if I’m doing it just because everyone else is or just because I’m supposed to do it.

Kind of like when everyone put American flags on their cars in the days right after 9/11. Again, I didn’t feel like doing it even though everyone else was. In fact, I remember thinking “I wonder what will happen to these flags in a few months or years?” Seems I was right. It’s not like everyone goes around now with a flag on their car all the time.

9/11 was an awful tragedy. A brutal and senseless terrorist attack. I’m just choosing to reflect on it and remember it in my own way.

Personal Best - Average Speed

2006-09-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

I rode in the Cowtown Classic yesterday. Although I only did the 42 mile ride, I did set a personal best record for average on-the-bike speed of 16.2 mph which was quite a jump from my normal average of about 15.6 mph. And I did it even though I was feeling a little cruddy. Imagine what I might be able to do when totally healthy. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

Happy Anniversary, Baby.

2006-09-09T05:44:00.000-05:00

Got you on my mind.

Today is 17 years since Michele made the biggest mistake of her life - marrying a freak like me. She should have married some other freak! :) But I'm glad she didn't. She's mine, all mine, and I'm not giving her back. Thanks, hon, for being the best wife in the whole wide world!

We're still havin' fun, and you're still the one.

Love you.

Other Idols

2006-09-08T11:59:00.000-05:00

Ace and Mandisa

Chris

Chris and Elliot

Ace (for the ladies)

Elliott and Mandisa

The whole group

American Idols Concert

2006-09-07T23:39:00.000-05:00

Earlier tonight the whole family went to the American Idols concert at Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie. It was a great show, with Taylor Hicks putting on an amazing performance. He is truly a great showman, constanly moving, dancing, jerking, and just having a good time while he sings.

Defeated by the Daughter

2006-08-28T19:42:00.000-05:00

I've just finished limping to the computer with my tail between my legs. I've been humbled by experiencing something that's never happened to me before: my daughter, Meredith, has beaten me at checkers. And not once, but twice.

And this was not her barely winning, she whipped me good. She ended each game with about 6-7 kings left in each game. And in the second game, when I had a wall of kings ready to wipe her out, she executes an impressive triple jump right through my forces, effectively sucking the life out of any chance I had of maybe surviving this night with my dignity intact.

(Just in case anyone is wondering: No, I did not let her win. I played straight up, out to win.)

I was not ready for this. The last time I played her(many, many months ago) I was able to beat her fairly easy. I had no idea that she had gotten this good at checkers that fast. It's just another life lesson for me that my little girl is growing up.

Way to go, MearBear. Good job!

Hotter 'N Hell Hundred

2006-08-27T08:28:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Michael Lea and I competed in the Holy Grail of cycling rides, that torture session known as the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred. We joined 11,800 of our closest friends in Wichita Falls, TX for the biggest one-day cycling event in the nation.

The ride certainly lived up to its name as the temperature reached 104 degrees with a heat index of 107 degrees along with 28 mph winds gusting up to 35 mph. These conditions, along with some very rough chip seal roads, limted me to only 75 miles, which is now my new personal best ever distance cycling. My on the bike average speed was 15.6 mph.

I've now reached 1,303 total miles this year.

The ‘Boys Are Back In Town

2006-08-21T14:10:00.000-05:00

Well, almost. The Cowboys play tonight in Shreveport, LA which is just about an hour east of my hometown of Longview, TX, which is about 2 ½ hours east of Fort Worth. It's kind of interesting to me because that is actually one city where the Cowboys play a road game that I have been to. In fact, I have driven past the stadium where they will be playing many times. I used to go see concerts in an indoor coliseum right next to the football stadium where tonight's game will be played.

I've been to Shreveport quite a few times to visit cousins back when I was a kid. And one time I went there with my parents to the horse track and another time to check out one of the casinos. I've also been to Barksdale Air Force Base which is over there too. My folks still go there often because they can buy stuff cheaper there since my father is retired Air Force.

When I first heard about this game months ago I thought about visiting my folks for the weekend and then staying a couple of extra days to go see the game. But then I checked into the ticket prices and quickly changed my mind. Have I ever mentioned that I think full price for preseason tickets is a rip off? Great thing is I get to watch the game on TV.

More planets? Say it ain't so.

2006-08-16T05:19:00.000-05:00

OK. I just read an article in the paper that said that they might add 3 new planets to our solar system. As a traditionalist and as a person who does not like change, I hope that they do not do this. Ever since I have been alive there has been 9 planets. There was 9 when I was born, 9 when I was a kid, and 9 all of my life. You just don't go around messing with the solar system. It's not right!

Apparently there's also some stuff going on about taking out Pluto as a planet if we don't add the 3 new ones. Again, don't fix what isn't broken. Leave it as it is and we'll all be fine.

I wonder if there is an on-line petition I can sign to keep our solar system the same.

Moss Throws Tantrum, Brooks Throws Bricks

2006-08-15T13:40:00.000-05:00

Gotta love this stuff about Randy Moss and Aaron Brooks coming from the Raiders/Vikings preseason game: (Courtesy of FOXSports.com)

"Moss, who lit up the Metrodome in the first seven years of his career, started the night with a feet-stomping tantrum after Brooks didn't see him wide open in the end zone. "

"After making his only catch against second-team cornerback Dovonte Edwards in the second quarter, Moss was pulled. Moss stormed off the field and threw his helmet in disgust, stewing on the bench for the rest of the game."

"Signed as a free agent from New Orleans, Brooks is just 2-for-9 for 28 yards, one TD and one interception in Oakland's first two preseason games."

Same old Moss and same old Brooks. Guess neither of them will get drafted in the first round of our fantasy draft.

Fantasy Funk

2006-08-14T05:10:00.000-05:00

Man, what a bummer. Just found out that Clinton Portis got hurt. And I've got the 7th pick in the draft.

That's a drag. One less stud RB to choose from.

Italian Carpenter

2006-08-10T05:48:00.000-05:00

Why They Will: Secondary

2006-08-08T18:25:00.000-05:00

One of the strengths of this years Cowboys team is their secondary. Terrance Newman is one of the best, most underrated cornerbacks in the league. He is practically a shut-down corner who should have gone to the Pro Bowl last year. He did not have big numbers in interceptions last year, so that’s what probably kept him out of the Pro Bowl. But as Bill Parcells said “Did he give up any touchdowns?” No, he did not. Case closed.

Anthony Henry, the other corner, is also a top-notch player. He made some great plays last year before he got hurt, and he looks like he is completely over his injury and is playing at top form right now.

The nickel/slot corner, Aaron Glen, could be a starter on most teams and is a big time play maker. When he’s in the game, he just makes things happen. Bad things for the other team’s offense, that is.

Of course no discussion of the Cowboys secondary would be complete without mentioning safety Roy Williams. This hard hitting Pro Bowl safety is the heart and soul of the Dallas defense and I feel that Roy is going to have a big year. Yes, he sometimes gets burned deep, but the plan this year is to let Roy play closer to the line of scrimmage so that he can wreck havoc like he was created to.

Now, the ‘Boys do have a question mark at free safety, but Keith Davis returns and rookie Pat Watkins is turning some heads in training camp. They also got Marcus Coleman in free agency, so this position should be stronger in 2006.

Since the Cowboys have arguably one of the best secondarys in the NFL, that is Why They Will win the Super Bowl.

50 Mile Ride

2006-08-05T14:43:00.000-05:00

I did a 50 mile ride earlier today and, man, was it hot towards the end. I started at about 7:15 a.m. and finished at about 11:15 a.m. The last 10 miles was tough. As I made my way from downtown south toward Benbrook, the heat and sun were really starting to fry my brain good. I finally had to stop and rest under a shade tree with about 5 miles to go. I was hoping to rest for only a couple of minutes, but it took about 10-15 minutes for my body to cool down enough where I felt like I could go on.

Guess this will be good training for the Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred, which is only three weeks away. My friend Michael Lea and I will be subjecting ourselves to the torture of the 100K route. Are we idiots or what?

Why They Won't: Offensive Line is Offensive

2006-08-03T21:17:00.000-05:00

Periodically I will be analyzing the potential for the Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl this season. I will be looking at it in two ways:

Why They Won’t win the Super Bowl and Why They Will win the Super Bowl

Today I start with Why They Won’t win the Super Bowl.

The weakest part of the Cowboys team is their offensive line. If this unit performs as abysmally as they did last season, then even with T.O. the offense will sputter since the QB will be lying on his back most of the time. The Cowboys knew they needed to fix this part of the team in the off-season, but I am concerned that they did not.

At left tackle, they are counting on Adams, who is coming off knee surgery, to be his Pro Bowl self again(which he really only did for one year). What if he does not? They replaced a Pro Bowl guard with a reject from the Lions. Just ask my buddy Jim how bad the Lions offensive line was last year. They can’t decide which guy to start at center, which means neither of the two guys are that great or else one of them would be the obvious candidate to start. The other guard is a pretty solid veteran, but he had a sub-par season last year. Will he do likewise this year? And then there’s right tackle. Any Cowboys fan knows the woes that the ‘Boys had at that position last season. And guess what? They are actually considering letting Petitti start again. And why, you say? Because Fabini, the guy they got in free agency, has been a big disappointment. And the other guy, Columbo, hasn’t played in like 2 ½ years.

Because the Cowboys offensive line is such a mess, that is one reason Why They Won’t win the Super Bowl.

Update To Get You Up To Date

2006-08-02T16:22:00.000-05:00

Since it’s been over 2 months since my last post I’ll just summarize some of what’s happened in my life since then. Since my last post I have:

Turned 42 years old

Watched my daughter turn 11 years old

Spent many nights in June practicing and performing in VBS

Seen about six summer movies

Ridden in five bike rallys

Crossed the 1,000 mile barrier in bicycle miles ridden since January 2006

Taken my daughter to and from summer camp and spent that week on vacation with Michele

Visited the museum

Done lots of swimming

Hosted nine tween-age girls at our house for a slumber party

Watched the Cowboys start training camp

Set up my fantasy football team and post lots of clever smack

Discovered some new music on XM radio

Enjoyed playing with my new gadget – a Pioneer inno XM radio/MP3 player

Committed to ride my first 100k bike ride (at the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred no less!)

And enjoyed every minute of my life thoroughly while thanking God for my wonderful family!

Goatneck

2006-07-29T16:52:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of me in action at the Goatneck ride earlier today. I did the 41 mile route. This ride has a reputation as one of the hardest amd hilliest in this area. It is a reputation that is well deserved. This shot was right after I crested the top of the longest, hardest hill. Some dude who runs a cycling web site was up there taking pictures.

Movie Review - X-Men III: The Last Stand

2006-05-27T08:43:00.000-05:00

Last night I saw the second big blockbuster movie of the summer: X-Men III – The Last Stand. This was a great movie and certain to rake in a lot of money over the Memorial Day weekend. As I walked up to the theatre every conversation I heard had to do with those people going to see X-Men III.

X-Men III, of course, is the sequel to the immensely popular first two X-Men movies. All of the main characters are back as well as increased roles for other characters such as Colossus, Kitty Pride, Ice Man, and Pyro and new characters including Angel and Juggernaught. As a big surprise other characters have a much smaller role in the movie such as Mystique, Cyclops, and even Professor X. That’s actually one of the best things about this movie: the big surprises that happen to and with major characters.

The other best thing about this movie is the use of the mutant powers and the special effects that accompany them. Fans of this aspect of the X-Men movies will not be disappointed as the mutant powers and special effects are a major part of X-Men III. I thoroughly enjoyed the vast display of mutant powers and daresay that this movie had way more than the other two movies. I love visual effects in movies and I was treated to major amounts of eye-candy in X-Men III.

But what about the plot and story line, you say? Check and check! X-Men III has a great story that is engaging and thought provoking. I won’t reveal it here as I like to keep my reviews spoiler free but trust me that if you are an X-Men fan you will like the story that X-Men III offers.

So, what’s my rating? Well, to sum it up, with great characters, good story line, big surprises, intense action, and awesome special effects X-Men III – The Last Stand gets The Bicycle Rack’s highest rating of:

Move Review - The Da Vinci Code

2006-05-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

Let me start off this review by stating that I knew nothing about The Da Vinci Code before I went to see the movie. I have not read the book, I have not seen or heard any interviews with the author, and I have not done any research on my own. I wanted to go into the movie with a blank slate and no expectations. I simply wanted to watch this movie as I do any other movie: to be entertained for a couple of hours.

That being said, I enjoyed The Da Vinci Code. However, I did feel that the movie was too long and there were parts of the movie that were too slow and boring. The Da Vinci Code should not have been a 2 ½ hour movie. It would have been a much better movie at about 2 hours or even 105 minutes.

I liked how the movie kind of drops you into the middle of a story where some guy is running away from a psycho albino monk and starts throwing terms and phrases at you that you don’t know like the “Priory” and fancy names for word and number puzzles. At first I was frustrated by this and wished the movie would let me ease into this Da Vinci Code world, but as it went on I found that I ended up liking that technique. It made me really pay attention from the get go so that I could try and figure out the things that were not making sense at first.

The puzzle solving parts of the movie was what I really enjoyed. I liked how they found a clue which led them somewhere else to another thing to try and figure out what the next clue was and so on. I did not like the two leads, however. Tom Hanks and the leading lady had no chemistry whatsoever. Their scenes together lacked any kind of electricity or spark. And maybe it was just the theatre I was in but c’mon people “SPEAK UP”! I could hardly hear what they were saying a lot of the time as Hanks and the woman were so soft spoken.

One of my favorite characters in the movie was some dude who was the manager of a place that had these high tech lock boxes. He was great in the scenes where he helps Hanks & the girl get away from the cops but then turns on them.

And of course Gandalf himself, Ian McKellen, steals the show. Once he came on the scene he injected much needed life into the movie. A lot of his role had to do with exposition-type dialogue explaining the theories behind the Da Vinci Code, but he gave what could have been dull scenes a sense of excitement and intensity. A great job by a great actor in a limited but important role.

Some folks are put off by the subject matter of The Da Vinci Code as they consider it blasphemy to speak of Jesus Christ in a manner other than how the Holy Bible does. However, I took it as it was written-purely fictional based on some theories that have some factual basis but no proof. In my opinion if you go into The Da Vinci Code with this attitude then you will enjoy the movie a whole lot more.

The Da Vinci Code was a good movie, not a great movie. Since it was too long, draggy in places, and marred by sub-par performances in the lead roles The Da Vinci Code receives only

Insane Beach

2006-05-19T13:16:00.000-05:00

Mayfest

2006-05-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Our whole family went to Mayfest for the first time ever Friday night. I took Meredith to Mayfest last year, but we just stayed at the children's area the whole time. This time we did the whole money spending, coupon buying, food eating, show watching, lots of walking full blown Mayfest experience. It was a lot of fun. Check out these pictures. Don't you wish you were there?

Kudos to Alan McDaniel for his design of the Mayfest logo and web site.

Which way is up?

Meredith on an Amazon Safari Obstacle Course

Finding Nemo?

Michele having a "small" snack

Movie Review - Mission Impossible III

2006-05-06T16:21:00.000-05:00

Well, I just finished watching the summer's first blockbuster. Yes, MI III lives up to the hype and delivers a solid entertainment experience. It should be a big hit and rake in lots of cash at the box office. I guess Tom and Katie won't have to worry about Suri's college fund.

MI III has lots of (forgive the pun) impossible action sequences, fancy gadgets, and plenty of plot twists and surprises. The movie also has a great story line which helps add to the experience. When I go to see an action movie story is always secondary to me if there are plenty of explosions and lots of gunfire. But MI III has the added bonus of a good script which is a big plus.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you ladies that the star of the show is Tom Cruise, who once again takes on the role of secret agent Ethan Hunt. This time we get to see some "normal life" scenes from Tom as Ethan has meet a woman he wants to marry and has retired from field work in order to train new agents. This could have been silly, over the top stuff ala Spy Kids, True Lies, and/or Mr. & Mrs. Smith but MI III keeps it real and very believable. I only wish that they had included a scenes of Ethan jumping on the couch.

Ethan goes back into action when one of his trainees gets captured by the bad guys. This leads to a great action sequence of the IMF team breaking into a warehouse, getting the agent out, and then the pursuit by the bad guys. Then there is some down time while plot points are ironed out before what is in my opinion the best action sequence of the movie-the team breaks into the Vatican to kidnap a bad guy. The Vatican sequence showcases what is great about the Mission Impossible movies: agents in disguises, clever infiltration tactics, rubber masks, voice imprints, and some humor thrown in for good measure.

Another good sequence involves an attack on a bridge, which most people have seen a glimpse of via the TV commercials of Tommy Boy being slammed into a car. While this sequence was very good, it can't quite top the Vatican sequence in my opinion. The ending of the movie was pretty good too, with the great use of what I call the "teaser tactic" where it seems as if it is about to end, only to go into another section and so on and so on.

The most disappointing thing about MI III was the lack of use of Philip Seymour Hoffman as the bad guy. He actually is not in very many scenes and has very minimal dialog in the scenes he is in. I loved his character in Twister and was looking forward to seeing him in this role.

But even with that small flaw, Mission Impossible III is still an awesome movie and a must see. It earns The Bicycle Rack's top rating of:

Pictures From My First Bike Rally

2006-05-06T10:27:00.000-05:00

Click here to see some pictures from my first ever bike ride-Ride For Heroes in Aledo, TX

Movie Review - RV

2006-05-05T14:48:00.000-05:00

If you have an RV, then this is a movie for you. In fact, if you've ever had one, thought about getting one, or have just seen one on the road, then RV is a movie for you. If you've ever been camping, then RV is a movie for you. Oh, let's face it, RV is a movie for everyone.

RV is a hilarious movie starring Robin Williams as Bob Munro, a father who decides to rent an RV and take his family on a cross-country trip to spend some quality time with his family as he feels himself drifting apart from his children. Many funny scenes revolve around Bob's inexperience with the various aspects of the RV such as driving it, hooking it up, dumping the sewage, etc. Other funny parts of the movie deal with Bob's relationships with his wife, son, and daughter who are very negative about the RV.

However, the show is stolen by the family that Bob and his family meet at their first stop in an RV park. The Gornicke family are full time RVers who travel the country in their converted bus. Once the Munro family meets the Gornicke family then they end up running into them throughout the rest of the movie-even when trying to avoid them on purpose. The quirky characters who make up the Gornicke family provide lots of laughs as well as the many situations where the Munro and Gornicke families interact.

Did I mention that this movie is funny? There are many, many laugh out loud moments and Robin Williams is at his comic best throughout the movie. Highlights include a rap scene in the forest, dinner with the Gornicke family, raccoon encounter, and diarrhea in the woods.

Go see RV soon and remember to stay through the end credits for a very funny musical number.

RV gets The Bicycle Rack's highest rating of:

My Wife's Blog

2006-05-04T18:24:00.000-05:00

Michele Hollar has joined the blog craze. Check it out sometime.

Personal Best

2006-05-04T16:50:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a bicycle ride along the Trinity Trails. On this ride I set a personal best distance record of 42.79 miles. I completed the ride in 3 hours and 45 seconds at an average speed of 14.2 mph.

I'm It

2006-04-25T08:40:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Jim Theisen, so here goes:

Four jobs you have had in your life:

1. Cook at Pizza Inn
2. Bag boy at Kroger
3. Usher at movie theater
4. Accountant

Four movies you would watch over and over:

1. Back to the Future trilogy
2. Star Wars movies
3. Star Trek movies
4. LOTR trilogy

Four places you have lived: (I put five)

1. Fort Walton Beach, Florida(birthplace)
2. Columbus, Mississippi
3. Colorado Springs, Colorado
4. Abilene, Texas
5. Longview, Texas

(Imagine the climate shock of spending four years in Colorado and then moving to Abilene.)

Four TV shows you love to watch:

1. Lost
2. Invasion
3. My Name Is Earl
4. Supernatural

Four places you have been on vacation:

1. Yellowstone National Park/Mt. Rushmore(road trip)
2. Walt Disney World(road trip)
3. Universal Studios in Orlando(flying trip)
4. Mt. Nebo-Arkansas(road trip)

Four websites you visit often:

1. Nascar.com
2. Weather.com
3. DallasCowboys.com
4. Fort Worth Bicycle Association

Four of your favorite foods:

1. Michele’s homemade bread
2. Steak
3. Pizza
4. Lasagna

Four places you would rather be right now:

1. Anywhere with M & M(wife and daughter)
2. The bridge of the Starship Enterprise
3. On the beach
4. On a mountain
5. On my bike

Four people who are tagged to do this:

1. Michael Lea
2. Wezie
3. Chef Preston
4. Alan McDaniel

A Free Man

2006-04-17T08:38:00.000-05:00

Free at last, free at last! Thank the IRS I'm free at last!

No more over time for me as today marks the end of tax season and the beginning of a normal life again for me and mine. No more getting up at 2:00 a.m. No more 12 hour weekdays. No more 8-10 hour Saturdays. I feel like a burden has been lifted.

I give glory to God for getting me through this tough time and I thank my wife and daughter for their wonderful support.

Cool Art

2006-04-10T03:30:00.000-05:00

Woah! This one's scary ~

Movie Review - Ice Age 2

2006-04-08T17:40:00.000-05:00

Today the whole family went to see Ice Age 2. This was a great movie! As a sequel, I actually found it to be better than the first one in lots of ways. I liked the plot of the movie better than the orginal and the addition of some new characters was a nice touch as well. In fact, the possums stole the show! And you Scrat fans, don't worry. He's back as well and funnier than ever. One of the funniest scenes in the whole movie involves Scrat chasing after his nut over a thin patch of ice.

The story of Ice Age 2 revolves around the old gang from the first movie traveling cross country to avoid a melting glacier and the ensuing flood that will occur once the glacier melts. The "herd" is once again led by Manny, with Diego along for support, and Sid returning to provide the comic relief. Along the way the group meets up with two possums and a female mammoth who thinks she's really a possum. They all team up to travel together and lots of fun occurs along with some touching scenes between Manny and Ellie, the female mammoth. There are some guest star voices that will really surprise you and a hilarious musical production number by a group of vultures. That's right, I said vultures. You've got to see it to believe it.

This movie was well acted, well written, and a great time for the whole family. The characters are really well developed and there are also some side stories that add a lot to the movie such as an extension of the Sid/Diego relationship and Sid encountering a group of sloths with some hilarious results.

If you liked the first Ice Age, you'll love #2. If you loved the first one, then Ice Age 2 is a must see.

My rating:

Movie Reviews

2006-04-07T14:24:00.000-05:00

Okay. I've decided to steal an idea from Joe Ed Parris and do Movie Reviews on my blog. So be watching for them! Since I'm heavy into cycling, I will use bicycles as a rating system.

One bicycle = Pitiful excuse for a movie, a waste of time and a waste of film. You are a loser if you go and see this!
Two bicycles = Okay movie, you might want to go see it if you have nothing else to do except pick your nose.
Three bicycles = Pretty good movie, worthy of spending your money on. A movie you will enjoy and time well spent.
Four bicycles = Very good movie. You'll be glad you went to see it.
Five bicycles = An awesome movie! A must see experience! You are a loser if you DON'T see this movie.

Insane Beach

2006-03-28T06:04:00.000-06:00

Tagged

2005-12-12T19:21:00.000-06:00

Leave it to the preacher to come up with a way to get me to finally update my blog. Since I am "it" I'm supposed to answer some questions.

1. Seven things to do before I die:

Sky dive
Scuba dive
Visit Europe
Visit Asia (Japan and China)
Act in a community theater or professional theater play
Become a grandfather
Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary

2. Seven things I cannot do:

Cook
Clean house
Fix things
Play a musical instrument
Drive 55
Wiggle my ears
Dance

3. Seven things that attract me to my wife:

Her looks
Her cooking (see #2 above)
Her servant heart
Her Godly spirit
Her support of me
Her patience with me
Did I mention her looks? (She is a babe, you know!)

4. Seven things I say most often:

Dude . . .
Do you see what I'm saying?
Unbelieveable!! (When watching a Cowboys game.)
I got 'cha.
Urghhh! (When frustrated)
Go people! (When driving)
Awwww, man!

5. Seven books, series, or authors I love:

Steven King
The Dark Tower
Star Trek
Star Wars
Left Behind
Max Lucado
Wild at Heart

6. Seven movies I watch over and over again (or would watch over and over again if I had the time):

Back to the Future
Star Wars
Star Trek (especially Wrath of Kahn)
Lord of the Rings
The Terminator (and T2)
Armageddon
The Rock

7. Seven people I'm tagging:

TBA
Alan McDaniel

Supreme Court Carousel

2005-10-27T16:25:00.000-05:00

Back on July 13th I made this post:

"I'm not a big "politics" guy, but a news story caught my eye today and got me thinking.This story on Fox News made me curious about the future of the Supreme Court. I know that the original woman is cruising, and it looks like Rehnquist has serious health issues. Will he leave or die before the end of Bush's term as President? If so, then George W. could end up appointing 2 Supreme Court justices. To me that is big! That's like almost 1/4 of the folks on the court. And since the President is a conservative Christian I would assume he would appoint the same type of person to the Court. And this could then affect the decisions of the Court for at least a couple of generations. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out."

Since then, Rehnquist has died (as I predicted), the guy nominated to replace Sandra Day O'Conner ended up replacing Rehnquist, and now today we find out that the lady who was nominated to replace the replacement of O'Conner has decided that she needs replacing as a nominee. And so she's out of there. I just KNEW this was going to end up being a big deal! I may only have a political thought every 2-4 years, but when I do it's right on the money.

To me this is just so big because the Supreme Court has become this place that affects values and morals for our nation(i.e. abortion, "Under God", etc.).

So, again, what will Bush do? Will he try and get a conservative Christian in there? Will it be a woman? As I said back in July "It will be interesting to see how all this plays out".

Cold As Ice

2005-10-25T06:46:00.000-05:00

Today I went on my normal Tue morning bike ride. Except things were not quite so normal. It was 38 degrees outside. Brrr! So I put on my long-sleeve thermal bike jersey, my thermal long bike pants, and my face mask thing(called a baclava), and a light jacket that I wore over the jersey.

It was still cold with all of that on. But I finished my ride anyway. Weather conquered.

Bad Blogger

2005-10-23T14:05:00.000-05:00

Let me go ahead and get out of the way all of the lame excuses as to why I haven't posted to my blog in over a month:

1. NFL season started. A lot of my internet time since Labor Day has been spent reading about my beloved Cowboys and the other NFL action each week.
2. Fantasy Football league started. See # 1 above. To run a great team such as mine requires less blog time and more research time. I guess it's paying off so far as I am 5-2 as of today and in first place in my league.
3. I got a bike. Any internet time not spent on #'s 1 & 2 above have been spent on bike related sites. I've also spent many hours riding said bike. And enjoying every minute of it. I'm hooked big time! I am a bike junky. I look forward to each ride with much anticipation.
4. The new fall TV season started. With my handy dandy TIVO I have been able to fill many evening hours watching such shows as Lost, Surface, Invasion, Threshold, Night Stalker, Prison Break, The Biggest Loser, Everybody Hates Chris, etc., etc. As you can guess, this leaves no evening hours to update the old blog.
5. Final tax deadline. I got really busy at work the first two weeks of October as the push for the October 15 deadline reached a fever pitch. Then that third week in October was filled with client visits. This left no free time during the day to make blog posts.

So, now then, hopefully I will be back to updating my blog more frequently. We'll see.

Cool Art

2005-09-20T11:05:00.000-05:00

Can you do an entire floor? OK ... Now do it in 3-D!

I got a bike!

2005-09-18T06:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went and bought a bike! It is a Trek 4300 mountain bike. Then me, Michele, and MearBear went out riding the trails. I was on the bike, Michele was using rollerblades, and Meredith was trying out her brand new rollerskates. The Holler's were rolling! First we went to a trail by Trail Lake Rd., close to the old location of Altamesa. But it was too hilly and rough for the girls. I also got my first flat tire on that trail. Since we were close to the bike shop, we ran in for a quick flat repair, hit the road again, and then headed over to Trinity Park. Much better! Very flat concrete path, lots of shade, and nice and breezy. Also with lots of benches for resting and nice views of the Trinity and downtown. What a great day! (We were so focused on getting it done that we forgot to bring the camera. We'll post pictures of a future trip.)

I also rode the CandleRidge trail solo this morning.

This post sponsered by Bicylces, Inc. I highly recommend them for your bicycle needs. Great selection, great customer service, and great repair dept. They are located off of Granbury Road and I-20 next to JoAnns & Panchos.

Sidewalk chalk

2005-09-10T05:27:00.000-05:00

Abraham's Faith

2005-08-31T05:30:00.000-05:00

Rom 4:20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

With respect to the promise of God, Abraham did not waver in unbelief. He did not vacillate between faith and doubt as many believers frequently do. When from the human viewpoint things are going well, it is easy to trust God. But when things seem impossible, it is even easier to distrust Him.

It would seem from the Genesis narratives that Paul was mistaken about Abraham's unwavering faith. When "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great,'...Abram said, 'O Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?...Since Thou hast given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir'" (Gen 15:1-3). Abraham openly admitted before God that he could not understand how the divine promise of an heir, much less of a multitude of nations, could be fulfilled. The only heir he could see was his chief servant, Eliezer, who would have received Abraham's inheritance had no son been born to him by Sarah.

But struggling faith is not doubt, just as temptation to sin is not itself sin. The very fact that Abraham was trying to understand how God's promise could be fulfilled indicates he was looking for a way of fulfillment, although he could not yet see a way. Weaker faith might have simply succumbed to doubt. Sincere struggling with spiritual problems comes from strong, godly faith. Such faith refuses to doubt and trusts in God's promises, even when no way of fulfillment is humanly imaginable. God's testing of His children's faith is designed to strengthen their trust, and they should thank Him for it, hard as it seems to be at the time (see James 1:2-4).

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

When Abraham was tested by God, he grew strong in faith.
(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)

This really touched my heart this morning as it relates to our waiting to see if God will bless us with another child. Sometimes I feel like Abraham, not understanding how it could happen, and I begin to wonder if I am doubting. This study this morning gave me some peace-knowing that trying to understand God's plan for us is not doubt, but simply our faith struggling, exercising our spiritual muscles. And we hope that God is glorified. We want God to have glory no matter when or if he blesses us with another child. He is God, wonderful and awesome, no matter what his plan is for our family. He deserves to be glorified and we are striving to do that daily.

I love it when I study God's words and he reveals things to me that I needed at that time. May anyone who reads this have that same blessing from the Word in your own personal study.

Cool Art

2005-08-30T10:26:00.000-05:00

How many horses in this picture? Should find 7

Faith

2005-08-28T15:00:00.000-05:00

Faith is never the basis or the reason for justification, but only the channel through which God works His redeeming grace. Faith is simply a convicted heart reaching out to receive God's free and unmerited gift of salvation.

The story is told of a poor farmer who had saved his money for years in order to buy an ox to pull his plow. When he thought he had enough saved, he traveled a great distance to the nearest town to shop for an ox. He soon discovered, however, that the paper money he had been saving had been replaced by a new currency and that the date for exchange from the old to the new had long since passed. Because he was illiterate, the man asked a neighbor school boy to write a letter to the president of their country, explaining his dire situation and asking for an exemption. The president was touched by the letter and wrote back to the farmer: "The law must be followed, because the deadline for exchanging bills has already passed. The government can no longer change your bills for the new ones. Even the president is not exempt from this rule. However," the president continued, "because I believe that you really worked hard to save this money, I am changing your money for new money from my own personal funds so that you will be able to buy your ox."

Before God, every person's good works are as worthless as that farmer's outdated money. But God Himself, in the Person of His Son, has paid the debt. And when a confessed sinner casts himself on God's mercy and accepts in faith the Lord's atoning work in his behalf, he can stand forgiven and divinely righteous before Him.

(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)

Sidewalk chalk

2005-08-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

A few days off

2005-08-26T20:36:00.000-05:00

This past Wed-Fri I took off from work. I wanted to take some time off to have a little break before we get busy at work again. We were going to go to Six Flags on Wedesday, but it was just too hot. So we went to the Cowgirl musuem instead. These pictures are from there.

On Thursday I played XBox games all afternoon while M & M went and visited Michele's grandmother. Then on Friday MearBear and I went to see the movie Valiant while Michele took the day to herself, which included shopping for fall clothes.

God's great truth

2005-08-25T14:27:00.000-05:00

God's justice and grace are on a perfect and infinitely grander scale than human wisdom can perceive or comprehend. Because of His justice, no sin will ever go unpunished; yet because of His grace, no sin is beyond forgiveness.

(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)

Cool Art

2005-08-17T14:27:00.000-05:00

Stare at this picture and see the Senoras and Senors

We miss you, Elvis

2005-08-16T06:57:00.000-05:00

Today is the 28th anniversary of the day Elvis Presley died. I can still remember how devastated I was when I heard that the King was gone. But his memory lives on in his music, his legend, and the many Elvis impersonators and tribute artists, including yours truly.

So to you, Elvis, we say:

"Thank you, thank you very much!"

Seeking God

2005-08-15T05:59:00.000-05:00

I recently started a personal study of Romans. In Rom 3:11 Paul states that no one seeks God. In response to that, is the following quote from John MacArthur's commentary. Oh that I could be like this:

The person who truly seeks for God is like David, who declared, "I have set the Lord continually before me" (Ps 16:8). Such a person seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt 6:33). God becomes the focus of everything, the source of everything, the beginning and end of everything. To truly seek for God is to respect and adore His sovereign majesty and to feed on the truth of His Word. It is to obey His commandments, to speak to Him in prayer, to live consciously in His presence with a desire to please Him. No one can do such things naturally, but only by the Spirit of God working through him. The natural inclination of men is to "seek after their own interests" (Phil 2:21).(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002)

God, may we all truly seek you fully today and everyday.

Cool Art

2005-08-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

Houses or People? You Decide!

Elvis Update

2005-08-05T09:11:00.000-05:00

It looks like I've got another fun Elvis gig lined up. In January '06 I will be doing Elvis with a live band for 500+ CPAs and lawyers.

So what do you think might be the best Elvis songs for this group of folks? Feel free to change up the lyrics to fit the audience.

For example, during "Hound Dog" instead of singing "You ain't nothing but a Hound Dog, crying all the time" I could sing a verse that says "You ain't nothing but a lawyer, objecting all the time".

Cool Art

2005-08-05T09:04:00.000-05:00

How Many Tall Ships are There?

Third time's the charm

2005-08-05T08:47:00.000-05:00

We're going to Longview this weekend to visit my parents.

That may not sound like such a big deal, but given recent history it will be a big deal if we have a complete visit for the weekend. Let me explain.

Our last trip there did not end well. We were there for Memorial Day weekend, but on Sunday of that weekend Mom's blood pressure dropped so low that she passed out. We had to call 911 and she was taken to the hospital where they were able to stabilize her. But she had to spend the night in the hospital, so all Sunday and Monday we really didn't get to see her. Plus the tense situation of seeing emergency personnel working on her was tough on us.

Then two weekends ago we had planned to go see them, but we got a phone call from them on Friday morning. Mom was not feeling well due to some problems with her medications and they advised us that it would be better for us not to come that weekend, so we did not go.

So here's hoping we have a successful visit with my parents this weekend. If you're reading this, please say a prayer for us to that end. Thanks.

Pitbull vs. Porcupine

2005-08-05T08:45:00.000-05:00

Judge ye not?

2005-08-02T06:22:00.000-05:00

By now you may have heard about Rafael Palmeiro being suspended for testing positive for steroids. In reading this story, I couldn't help but think about Danny's series on being judgemental. Palmeiro told Congress in March that he had never used steroids. Yesterday he said that he has "never intentionally used steroids." So how do we judge this man? Is he a liar? Or is he telling the truth? If he's telling the truth, then how did the steroids get in his system? Is it right to call him a liar when we don't really know him or really know for sure if he in fact did use steroids? What about that word "intentionally"? Does that change our thoughts of the situation? Can you "accidentally" use steroids?

Very interesting questions-especially in light of not wanting to be judgemental of some one.

Random thoughts

2005-08-01T15:23:00.000-05:00

Entertainment can take away from time with God

Contributions are tax deductible but interest on credit cards is not
(It's almost as if God had a hand in the Tax Code)

Spilled paint does not come out of carpet

Every time I ask God for patience, I end up driving behind someone going slow when I'm running late for work

TIVO is the best invention ever(next to air conditioning)

Training Camp

2005-07-28T16:37:00.000-05:00

Those magical words that bring joy to a young man's heart. (And us middle aged guys too.) The end of the dryest desert part of the year: off-season. The beginning of a new NFL season. The time of renewed optimisim. The failures of the prior season are all forgotten. The hope of what the new season will bring is hanging in the air.

My beloved Cowboys start training camp tomorrow. They begin their quest to reach Super Bowl XL. (For those of you that are Roman numerical challenged that's 40, NOT extra large!) The offseason has been good to the 'Boys. Many new players have come their way. Good players. Talented players. Others have departed. (Vinny's gone, but not soon enough.) But yet, questions remain. How will the 3-4 defense work out? Will Bledsoe be a winner? Can Julius do it for a full season? Has Jerry Jones lost any more weight?

I've only got one thing left to say: Are you ready for some football?

When the daughter's away, the parents will play

2005-07-22T15:54:00.000-05:00

The lack of updates since last week has been due to the living of a very awesome life this past week.

MearBear's birthday kept us busy last Friday and then I took her shopping on Saturday so she could cash in her Limited Too & Claire's gift cards. Sunday was church and then we dropped her off at camp for the week. On the way back from camp I got lost and the Otey's & McDaniel's got lost too as they were following us. Not sure why an engineer and a graphic designer would let a CPA lead the way. :)

Sunday night was dinner & a movie with friends who had likewise dropped their children off at camp. The funniest part was the Meachem's lining up a baby sitter at the last minute and joining us at the movie. Did you know that Jennifer Meachem's laugh is very recognizeable in a darkened theater?

Monday night Michele and I went to see Revenge of the Sith. 2nd time for me, 1st for her. Tue night we watched Sideways. Don't ask. (It was a dumb movie.) Wed I took the day off and pulled the following surprises on Michele: Amon Carter museum, lunch at the Kimball, dinner at Del Frisco's, the musical Godspell at Bass Hall. Thur was vegging out day and then going to ISCC to watch Meredith sing in the talent show. And now it's today.

Bye.

Happy Birthday, Meredith

2005-07-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today our daughter, Meredith, turns 10 years old. She now moves from the single digit ages to double digits.

We're so proud of the young lady she has become. It's been a joy to watch her grow the last 10 years. Grow in size, grow in spirit, and grow in maturity. It's also gone way too fast! We love you so much, MearBear.

Happy Birthday!

Meredith-July 2005

Meredith-July 1995

Supreme Court

2005-07-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big "politics" guy, but a news story caught my eye today and got me thinking.

This story on Fox News made me curious about the future of the Supreme Court. I know that the original woman is cruising, and it looks like Rehnquist has serious health issues. Will he leave or die before the end of Bush's term as President? If so, then George W. could end up appointing 2 Supreme Court justices. To me that is big! That's like almost 1/4 of the folks on the court. And since the President is a conservative Christian I would assume he would appoint the same type of person to the Court. And this could then affect the decisions of the Court for at least a couple of generations.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

So ends this month's political thought by KH.

For all those who are having a bad day . . .

2005-07-13T13:38:00.000-05:00

It can always be worse

Meredith's 10th Birthday Party

2005-07-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

Movie Weekend

2005-07-09T21:06:00.000-05:00

Meredith went to Kid's Road Map this weekend which left Michele and I all alone. This allowed me to catch up on some of the summer movies that I had missed the last couple of weeks. First up was Bewitched on Friday night. OK. I know. It's got witchcraft in it, but it's based on the '70s sitcom. I'm a '70s/'80s guy. I had to see it. Michele and I both liked it. It was not laugh out loud funny very much, but it was good.

Saturday morning was Fantastic Four. Michele passed on that one, which was her loss as she missed an excellent movie. I liked the plot, the action scenes, and of course the special effects were great. A definite DVD purchase this holiday season.

As will be the last movie we saw, which was War of the Worlds on Sat afternoon. Michele said it was "very good" which for her is high praise for a summer blockbuster. And I thought it was awesome! You were pretty much on the edge of your seat from the get go. More great special effects and Cruise does a good job in the acting dept. I would even be up for seeing it again this summer. How 'bout it Jim? I'm free next Tue night . . .

When MearBear goes to camp next weekend I will be taking Michele to see Revenge of the Sith. I saw it on opening day and will be anxious to see what she thinks of it. I'll post her impressions afterwards.

July 7 Sno Cone Club Meeting

2005-07-07T18:55:00.000-05:00

Goooo Cone Heads!

Yummy!

Self portrait-Sno Cone style

The kids of Sno Cone Club

The Official Sno Cone Club Mascot-Mister Baggins

4th of July Holiday

2005-07-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a great 4 day weekend since I took off from work on the 5th. On Sat & Sun we were at Michele's father's house in Eustace, Texas. He lives in a lakeside community outside of any city limits-so that means one thing to this boy on 4th of July weekend. Fireworks! On Saturday night we went down by the lake and shot off our fireworks as well as watching as others shot off theirs all across the lake. As a bonus God provided his own fireworks courtesy of a lightning storm in the gathering clouds overhead.

On Sunday we went out on the lake in a barge with various aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. and then came back home Sunday night.

On Monday the 4th I made last minute plans for us to attend the Fort Worth Cats baseball game and then watch the fireworks afterwards. See the pictures above. It was our first experience at a Cats game. It was a very nice facility and the fireworks were great. We were so close to them they literally filled up the sky.

We all slept very late the next morning on the 5th, which is why I wanted to take the day off. Then we just vegged out, enjoying the freedoms that this great nation of ours has to offer.