Gary
2/27/09
The Metcalfs are homeward bound and, at last report, in Chicago!
Marsha
2/27/09
We got over 5 inches of snow and I got stuck in the driveway this a.m. so I just stayed home from work today. Our winter has been pretty awful, spring can't come soon enough! Anna got another part time job as a receptionist at a little salon down the street from her house, so she has school, jobs at Bachman's and at The Chair. We are enjoying all the pictures from Washington!
Been snowing here for a few hours (now 7:30 pm). Not much on the ground, but it's supposed to snow all night. And it's cold! --Gary
Gary
2/27/09
Looks like the Metcalfs have followed the yellow brick road to the Smithsonian.
Gary
2/27/09
Wow, the Metcalfs are getting around today! :-) Here's one more photo, at the WW1 Memorial.
Gary
2/27/09
And more from Washington, at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. (It's a relatively new monument, so if you aren't familiar with it, go here to see more.)
It's cool to see Teghan with FDR -- I'm reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's "No Ordinary Time" right now, about the Roosevelt White House during WW2.
Gary
2/27/09
Tristen and Teghan's Excellent Washington Adventure continues with a visit to the Jefferson Memorial, including a Presidential fly-over!
Karen
2/26/09
Thankfully the big snow storm missed us. Did get some icy rain this morning. Did Lincoln or Minneapolis get hit? The laptop is great -- just about 1/2 the size of a normal one, but all the features of a big one. Looks like the Metcalfs are having a good time, look forward to getting more details when you return.
In Lincoln it turned windy this afternoon, but bone-dry all day. I heard from Donna that Omaha was rainy this morning. --Gary
Gary
2/26/09 One more photo today -- Tristen and the Great Emancipator.
Gary
2/26/09
Hey, more Washington photos, thanks to Amanda!
Marsha
2/25/09
Karen, not too much new with me. I did try to call you one weekend but I called your old house number, my bad. What is that little mini laptop like that you got? It sounds cool. We are expecting 6-8 inches of snow tomorrow. Ish! Work has been ok, business is down quite a bit, but they haven't fired me yet. Anna just got hired back for the busier seasons. The garden center is being put back together and that is always nice to see. So, Gary when are you coming up to pick up Oscar?
Hmmm, I was hoping Oscar would hop on a bus and come down here.... :-) --Gary
Amanda
2/25/09
Yes, that was sent from my phone. We haven't had internet in our room, it's $13 a day & we barely are in our room so we haven't paid for it. We did do Fords Theater, Petersen House, Hard Rock Cafe, National Archives (saw the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence), Smithsonian Castle, Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, ice skating in the sculpture garden across from the National Archives & on the mall, Capitol Tour today, saw the White House today & am typing this from inside the Library of Congress. There's other things I'm sure, but we gotta keep moving!
Cool! Sounds like you're having a great time! --Gary
Gary
2/25/09 Today's photo came in with no commentary (Amanda sent it from her phone, I imagine), but after a little detective work I can make some assumptions. Look closely at Tristen's bag: It's from the Hard Rock Cafe, so we know they've been there. And the Hard Rock is just down the hill half a block from Ford's Theater, so we can assume they've been there. And also to the Petersen House (the rooming house where Lincoln was taken after the shooting) as it is just across the street.
Gary
2/25/09 BREAKING NEWS! Have you heard the latest from Washington today?
Marsha
2/24/09
Hey Karen, have you had to see another heart dr.? John has had a heart murmur since he was a kid. It is never much fun to hear news like that, but I'm glad they are aware of it and keeping an eye on you :) We were at 42 today. Finally some warmth!!! We are looking forward to hearing about Washington from the Metcalfs.
Marsha
2/24/09
Congrats to OLIVIA and Gary for their winning ways. Just wait till next year.....
Karen
2/24/09
Congratulations Gary and Olivia -- glad to hear that you got our fruit basket ) Didn't watch much of the Oscars -- we've all been battling colds and didn't care to stay up too late. Beautiful day here too, it was almost 60. I did hear that snow is heading our way by Thursday though. Gary -- like you, Emily and I got new computers this last week. Both the old laptops were dying and they stopped on the same morning. I got a new mini laptop and I love it! Marsha -- what have you been up to? Haven't talked to you for awhile.
I really considered getting a notebook computer this time. They are so cool. --Gary
Gary
2/24/09
Beautiful day here today -- up in the 60s. I see Washington DC is a little chillier, in the upper 30s. Hope the Metcalfs are having a great time!
I have posted the final stats from Sunday's Oscar night. Speaking for Olivia and myself, we graciously thank you for all the congratulatory telegrams, flowers, and fruit baskets we have received from you all. Oscar night 2010 is only 362 days away!
P.S. Happy Mardi Gras!
Gary
2/23/09
Congratulations to first-time winner Olivia and to previous-winner me for their Oscar victories Sunday night. It was a fun race this year, and I hope y'all had fun. Complete details will appear here when I have it all written up. As soon as second-place-finisher John dries his tears and ships the trophy down here, Livy and I will share it for the coming year! :-)
Amanda
2/22/09
We're sitting in the St. Louis airport. Our first flight was great, best I've been on I think. We have a little over an hour til we board for the flight to DC, where snow's expected today.....
Gary
2/19/09 Never play cards with this guy...
Donna
2/16/09
Someone just sent this to me. Hilarious, hard to pick a favorite here...
Donna
2/16/09
Here's a recent poll by historians ranking past presidents' performance.
Bush Jr. is 7th worst, should have been ranked lower.
Amen to that, but even so I would like to see his chimp-face get all squinty when someone reads that article to him. :-) Interesting that the two worst presidents -- Buchanan and Johnson -- immediately preceded and immediately followed Lincoln, the best. --Gary
Donna
2/16/09
But Cinematography was my strongest category.
How about if next year I make up for it by listing the Cinematography category twice? --Gary
Gary
2/16/09
Happy Presidents Day, everybody -- especially those of you lucky enough to get the day off. Business as usual here on the campus, though I can't complain after getting a nice snow day on Friday.
The Oscar voting is now over. Thanks to everyone who voted this year! I've printed up the score sheets as usual and will put them in the mail today. Meanwhile, here's how we voted. Good luck, everybody!
P.S. While tallying the votes, I discovered I'd made a mistake on the ballot. In the Cinematography category, I listed two movies that were not nominated and left out the two that were. So I have deleted that category to make it fair to everyone. Sorry about that!
Amanda
2/13/09
We didn't know she had it til last year. I attributed it to substandard care at military hospitals and now that we see real outside doctors they were more aware. Either way, she shows no signs of trouble, but its a scary thing nonetheless. Bella shows no signs either.... Weird to clump you two in with a dog.... :-) Gary, don't lose your keys in this snow!
To be honest, that was kind of the reason I stayed in today -- I'm just a bit paranoid about slipping right now... Hoping that wears off with the approach of spring and summer! --Gary
Karen
2/13/09
We do have excellent insurance, and I always think they do find more tests to run because of it. The doctor is thinking that the murmur is new, that is why they were so concerned. (She actually called in my old doctor from down the hall to check me out.) I hadn't realized that Teghan had a murmur. The doctor told me to just be aware and follow up with it too. So how much snow did you end up getting?
I'll answer that: Omaha around 6 inches, Lincoln 4.5. All done now and I'm hearing snowblowers through the window. --Gary
Amanda
2/13/09
Teghan has a heart murmur & is OK with it. She had to see a pediatric cardiologist less than a year or so ago & they hooked all the patches up to her. Said it's OK, but she'll always have it & just to keep an eye on her. You know, you were probably born with it (I don't think they just develop) and they just now caught it. Sadly, I learned more about heart murmurs after the vet found Bella's. We have such a great vet, he explained it SO well, that I understood Teghan's more. From a vet... Reminds me of a good Tommy Boy line, Richard: "you take dead animals to the vet?" Tommy: "I'll take you to the vet...."
I've had a crazy busy two weeks at work. Really last 4 weeks. I had to give a presentation to the Colonel, Lt. Colonel & all 4 majors (i.e. the big wigs at the STATE patrol) on my part of the job. It's an annual thing, but it's the first time they asked staff to do the presentations & not just the division sergeants. Mine was a little "hot topic-ey" as we have a bill going through legislature right now that will directly affect parts of my job & I've come to be known as the stats girl at work. (Good since my Poly Sci degree was heavy into stats & research.) So for weeks I researched our offenders, put together charts & graphs & a slideshow. Anyway, I was nervous as all get out that morning, but then I calmed right before & I pretty much rocked it out.
Tuesday through today I worked hard to get my real, normal job caught up, as all of it had gone to the wayside in the presentation prep time. I needed to be done by today as I'm going to Dallas Sunday for a work conference that's Mon-Wed. So, bye bye snow, hello 60 degrees! And I'll get to stay in a nice hotel & eat out on grant money & see a friend from college who is in Dallas getting her PhD at UNT. Then I'll go back to work for Thursday & Friday & then off for the next week for Washington. Phew. Can you feel my stress through the WWW? :-)
Amanda
2/13/09
Umm, yes "State Patrol" is the thing to say, as that's who we are!
OK, I'll try not to make that mistake again -- but be aware that I am someone who watched this during his formative years:
--Gary
Donna
2/13/09
Karen, you must have great insurance. ;-) Glad it's nothing serious.
Karen
2/13/09
Not a flake of snow for us, and I am glad! We just finally got rid of most our snow. Had a fun day at school, Valentines party all afternoon, should have enough chocolate to last me for the week-end. I need some chocolate this week-end, it's been a tough couple of weeks for me. Started last Monday, testing all week at school, and an angry parent. Then finally got to Friday, had a doctors appointment for a routine physical. No big deal --feeling great, but it had been about 5 years since I'd been in. All was going well until she checked my heart, she said "Oh, did you know you have a heart murmer?" -- news to me. She became rather concerned and said I would need some tests at the hospital in the next two weeks. Get a call the next day saying go to the hospital on Wed afternoon. By now I am beginning to get a little worried, but I take the afternoon off and check in the hospital. Had to lay on a hard, cold table for about 45 minutes while the tech took lots of cool pictures of my heart. I asked how it looked -- he said "it looks mostly normal, but I can't tell you that." So I wait the next day for a call from the dr office to give me the results, by now much relieved that it isn't much to worry about. I get a call about 1 from the nurse -- she said the results were in and I needed to talk with the dr about it, I should come in the office ASAP. I was now a lot more worried and spent the next two hours wondering what could be wrong. I go straight to the doctors office after school. Get in to see the dr and ask how bad is it? He looks at the first page, normal, second page -- pretty good, third page -- average. Then he looks at me and asks why I needed to come to the office to hear this!!!! Arghhhhh.... So a whole lot of worry and panic over something that looks to be normal. But just to be on the safe side I do need to see a cardiologist sometime in the next couple of weeks. So my advice is if you are feeling well, that is NOT the time to see your doctor!
Wow, a couple of weeks like that could cause a heart problem. Really glad it all turned out ok! --Gary
Donna
2/13/09
I wish it would have missed us, but it is a beautful snowfall. I was just outside and there's no wind and it's not real cold.
Even though they closed Omaha and Lincoln schools, the Gallup bus still drove to Omaha this AM. And then a few hours later, decided to drive them back at noon today. What a waste. I've heard Gallup went with this bus company because they would make the run to Omaha regardless of road conditions. Ridiculous.
Similar deal at UN-L. I just now got an email saying the University was closing at 3 pm. Thanks fer nuthin'! :-) --Gary
Gary
2/13/09
Oops, I did say Highway Patrol. Is that an outmoded term? Is "State Patrol" the thing to say? As one state employee to another, I beg your pardon! :-)
Thanks for sending in your Oscar ballot, Amanda. And you too, Tristen! And Samantha! Now if only Anna, Brent, Donna, Lori, Paul, Ryan, Sean, Teghan, and Zachary would do likewise today, tomorrow, or Sunday -- time's a-wastin'!
Amanda
2/13/09
Wow Gary did you really call it the "Highway Patrol?" I guess you work for the Community College of Nebraska? I'm at work, lots of work for me to do since I'll only be here for 2 days in the next 2 weeks. Girls are home with Ryan. Teghan didn't want a snow day, she had a Valentine's party, but as of noon I think it was a decent call. Decent, not great.
Gary
2/13/09
Hey, if you want to watch the snow fall in Lincoln, here again are the Lincoln traffic cams.
Gary
2/13/09
University classes are still on, but my office declared its own snow day. I just now called around: everyone is home except for one person who had to take care of something in the office, and plans to leave ASAP.
So I'm home today. Woo-hoo! Why does food taste so much better on a snow day? :-)
Livy
2/13/09
Snow Day!!!
Lindsey texted me last night saying that Seward cancelled and that they never cancel so I didn't know what to think... whether we would or not since we usually don't!!
But I'm sure glad it's here, but we don't need the snow!
Gary
2/13/09
Omaha has now called a snow day too. Of course, the University hasn't, but I'm thinking of staying home myself. Just west of here this morning, the highway patrol reported a heavy snowfall at a rate of two inches per hour. Headed this way.
Donna
2/12/09
Snow day for Lincoln! Can't believe they already called it. Have fun Olivia, Tristen and Teghan. I bet it doesn't even snow. Well, I hope it doesn't...
Gary
2/12/09
I know you're all fascinated by my computer story, so I'll bring you up to date: Spent all day yesterday tweaking and installing programs and downloading updates and whatnot, and by sundown everything was looking good. Still more to do, but it was a good start. Around 8:30 I decided to check my email one more time and then shut down for the night. But for some reason I was no longer connected to the internet. Tried to fix it, but nothing worked. Called Windstream tech support who had me try a few more things, but those things didn't work either. They told me it must be a computer problem and I should call my computer tech support. So I called Gateway and did yet another round of diagnostics -- none of which worked. By now it's 10 pm, and the Gateway guy said some file or other must have gotten corrupted, and the only solution was to re-format the hard drive (i.e., erase everything) and start over. Which would not only take a couple more hours, but would mean everything I'd done that day was wasted. So I did that, and by midnight I was exactly where I was 24 hours ago. Yeesh!
One other downside was that I lost some email that arrived within about a two-hour period. I had seen it before it was erased, so I know what I lost: several pieces of junk mail, and Lindsey's Oscar ballot. Again, I'm sorry, Lindsey! (I've already emailed her asking her to vote again.) Hopefully she'll have time in the next four days to go here and click. And I have the same hope for Amanda, Anna, Brent, Donna, Lori, Paul, Ryan, Samantha, Sean, Teghan, Tristen, and Zachary. Can't win if you don't play!
Gary
2/10/09
Hey, it works! Bought the computer, hooked it up, turned it on, and here we are. Took about half an hour and internet is connected, email is working, everything looks good. It's a Gateway FX6800: black case with orange trim, and the "on" light gives off a cool orange glow in the dark. Have a look!
So everything's back to normal, only better. Now I've got to learn Vista, and then reinstall all my favorite programs. Who'd a thunkit? :-)
Gary
2/10/09
Okay, I'm taking my big jar of pennies and a couple of coupons to Best Buy to buy a new computer. Which is something I haven't done in a long time. Except for my very first computer, way back in 1988 or whenever, all my computers have been custom built; and I would upgrade them a component or two at a time. This particular model looks good for my purposes and it should be quite a bit zippier. Downside is I have to do the whole setup/preferences thing all over again -- and this time in Vista.... I thought about "downgrading" to XP, but figured that might cause more problems than it would solve.
So, what does this all mean to you? Pretty much what I said in my previous note. This page won't be updated until I'm up and running at home -- which hopefully will be sometime tomorrow. I'm taking the day off to get this done! :-)
Gary
2/10/09
I found the pic online somewhere, and the location wasn't specified -- but I'm certain it's Macchu Picchu. What other place on earth looks like that? :-)
Continuing my tale of computer trouble, I had a very serious-seeming crash this morning. When I took the computer in a few months ago with the first of these crashes, the tech guy told me it was only a matter of time before the motherboard failed on me. (They have these little fuse-like things on them that pop out when there's trouble -- and one of mine had already popped.) So this morning I'm reading email, and it just blipped and went black. And wouldn't restart. I did the math, and repairing this one would cost nearly as much as buying a new one. So I've spent the morning shopping online and have it narrowed down to two models, both conveniently at Best Buy. Bottom line: As before, this page may not be updated in the evening hours for the time being. You can still send stuff in (like this!), but your items won't appear on this page until the following morning.
Donna
2/10/09
Where was the picture taken that's on the front page today? Inca ruins--Macchu Picchu?
Gary
2/9/09
Okay, the clock is ticking a little louder now. You have one week to get your ballots in. John heard the call this morning, so who am I talking to? Amanda, Anna, Brent, Donna, Lindsey, Lori, Paul, Ryan, Samantha, Sean, Teghan, Tristen, and Zachary, that's who! You can't win if you don't play....Marsha
2/8/09
I went to Whittier too, Gary, I think you and I both did Library Asst. with Miss Figard. I think we all (Gary, me and Paul) had Mrs. Adams for orchestra or band there too. Do you remember that crazy old science teacher who wore the world war 2 helmet around in class?
I remember Miss Figard well, and I can still remember that library in detail. Band I don't remember as well -- I think my teacher was a man, though I may be confusing this with band in high school. And the only science teacher I remember was the one I had, Mr. Schuman, and he never wore a helmet when I was around. It's weird, but I think I remember the building itself -- the library, the hallways, the stairway, the auditorium -- more than I remember what I did there. --Gary
Gary
2/7/09
Sheesh, I just noticed that the "Land of the Lost" video I posted below (on 2/2) has also been yanked by the lawyers. I cannot imagine what they're thinking... They're so hung up on control and copyright that they're giving up free advertising? And in its place creating ill-will and resentment? I know you've got to be very smart to become a lawyer, but apparently it wears off. Again, sheesh!
Amanda
2/6/09
I think Dad went to Whittier too? And sometimes at night the building is all lit up, it was in the paper the other day and Ryan saw it on his way to work one night. I didn't go to school there, but the building interests me nonetheless. Such a neat building. It's nice to see it being updated & not torn down.
Paul went there? And maybe Marsha too...? I thought I was the only one, for some reason. --Gary
Gary
2/6/09
Of all the people reading this page, I think I am the only one who ever went to Whittier Jr. High -- so this may not interest you as much as it does me. Whittier, as you probably know, has been closed up for years. And for almost that long there has been talk that the University (which owns the building) would someday refurbish it. Most recently the rumor was that Whittier would be fixed up and part of it used as a day-care for University employees. Anyway, for whatever reason, Whittier is now being remodeled! I drove by there today and saw that all the windows on the top floor had been removed and the third floor itself was being gutted. Strange to look through these big gaping windows and see the back bare walls... Plus, the big playground in front was covered with stacks of building materials, and a bulldozer was at work there too. Worth a look if you're in the neighborhood!
And speaking of the neighborhood, I just learned that the building on the block next to mine (Othmer Hall, on Vine between 16th and 17th) had a famous visitor today: Harrison Ford! He was here to scout out shooting locations for an upcoming movie to be filmed -- partly or totally -- here in Lincoln, and especially on the UN-L campus. He was also spotted in Nebraska Hall (the old Elgin Building, for you old-timers), and also the Walter Scott Engineering Center. This could get fun!
Gary
2/6/09
I hope you got to see the Jennifer Hudson video below, because it's gone now. Looks like the NFL decided they didn't want people listening to the National Anthem -- recorded from a one-time show which will never again be broadcast and there's no possible way it could be costing them anything. Lawyers...!
Our Oscar race now has seven contestants, after Marsha joined Emily, Erika, Gary, Grandma, Karen, and Olivia. Warning: Marsha seems pretty serious about it this year -- I know for a fact that she is already working on her acceptance speech. The Oscar has been residing in Minnesota for the past six months now, so if you'd like to bring it a little further south, get busy!
Gary
2/4/09
Thanks to Lindsey for sending in her contact info. It is now up on our super-secret contact page.
Gary
2/2/09
Jennifer Hudson's "Star Spangled Banner" from the Superbowl is now up on YouTube. It was her first public appearance since the deaths in her family. Get ready for goosebumps!
Emily
2/2/09
Yes I did get the DVD converter to work. Sorry I forgot to mention it earlier but it is working great for me! Thanks again.
Excellent! --Gary
Donna
2/2/09
I didn't watch the game either.
Emily, you can see all of the commercials on CNN or MSNBC. I watched them today. Nothing great, but the Conan ad wasn't bad. That's about the only one I remember now.
I forgot about half time, I wanted to see Bruce Springsteen. And I would have liked to watch Hudson sing the national anthem.
Amanda, the Smithsonian wants Aretha Franklin's hat but she's not sure she wants to let go of it. ;-)
Emily
2/2/09
I didn't watch any of the super bowl, I was working. But, I did hear around that it was a pretty good game. I do wish I could have seen the commercials though... they are always the best part for me :)
It snowed some here last night too. I was not very happy about it. I was in Omaha all weekend and it was soo nice, we didn't even need jackets. But, as soon as we get back into Sioux City, around 4 yesterday, it started snowing......
I am finishing up my second term at school. We have finals next week, then a week off, which I am very much looking forward to. I'm not sure how much fun next term will be either. All of my classes are upper level psychology classes...... But, those are the only classes I have left to take. So, hopefully they won't be too bad.
Hey Emily, did you get that video-converter to work? If not, I'd be glad to help you with it -- or send you a different program which does the same thing. --Gary
Gary
2/2/09
Wow, some game, eh? I was kinda pulling for the Cardinals, especially after coming from way behind as they did. But you have to give it to the Steelers for pulling off that miracle catch in the last few seconds of the game. And I hope you got to see Jennifer Hudson singing the anthem -- yowza! (And by the way, have you seen "Dreamgirls"? Even though Hudson got an Oscar last year for her performance, I never got around to seeing it until a few nights ago on TV. Yowza, again! Excellent movie!) The Superbowl commercials this year were kind of blah, I thought, though two movie trailers caught my eye: A new trailer for "Angels and Demons" (can't wait!), plus a movie I'd never heard of -- Will Ferrell in "Land of the Lost." Looks very funny.
Went outside this morning to go to work, and discovered my car caked in ice. When did that happen?? I had to spend 20 minutes with the scraper just to be able to see out. And any hypothetical groundhog here in Lincoln on this sunny morning saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter....
And hey, our own Oscar contest just got a little harder: Two-time winner Erika has joined Emily, Gary, Grandma, Karen, and Olivia as a player, meaning the rest of you have only two weeks to do the same!
Lindsey
2/1/09
Just sent you my info but I was looking around the site and...where is the contact page??
About a year ago I removed the contact page so strangers wouldn't have access to our info. But we all kind of missed it (it was useful!), so I brought it back last month -- but in a "secret" location and not linked to this site. I sent out an email explaining all this (including where to find the page), but it looks like you didn't receive it. Also, I didn't receive the email you said you just sent to me -- two examples of why we need a contact page! :-) So, please send me your info via the newsletter, and I will then send you the contact page location. Thanks, Lindsey! --Gary
