My Awesome Husband

It's a little after 8 pm on this quiet, sticky evening here in San Antonio. I am drinking a beer searching Myspace for an old high school buddy when in walks my husband with not one, but TWO trophies. After spending over 6 hours at a golf tournament, my first assumption is, WOW he really did well. That was until I read the inscription and really looked at each one. The first is a smaller sized, i'd say about 6 in tall. The base is white marble, while the pedestal holding the golden figurine is silver and rainbow in color. The man that sits atop this pedestal is not a golfer but a bowler. The inscription reads, 2007 SAYLA SCRAMBLE "LEAST BEST AWARD".
Before I begin to laugh hysterically, I decide to take a look at the second trophy. This one is much larger, almost 2 feet in height . It is adorned with a cup in the center and two small, but noble eagles on the second tier. The third tier however hold a large gold bowling pin. My first thought was, "did they not realize this was a golf tournament?" Once I read the inscription, Matt's fate was sealed! It read : "FARHEST FROM THE PIN" yes, farhest! Not only, did my wonderful, athletic, intelligent husband score very last at this tournament of mentors and fellow legal brains, but he managed to roll a golf cart while immersed in this intensely challenging round of golf. At first I didn't believe he had rolled it over but alas he had the scrapped up arm to prove it. This is what makes my husband so incredibility awesome. While the majority of the players are going home tonight with nothing but a bruised ego, my husband showed up with TWO bowling trophies and a bruised arm!!!!!

Who knew golf could be so enthralling?

If you haven't seen this yet, check it out...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=D6ZYcBocfQo


by the way, this is Matt setting up Megan's account.

50 seems to be the new Plateau

50 Pushups, started with 50 and counted down... getting easier, but can't mentally get myself to start with 51...

Alex, are you at 100 yet?

Matt, can you be a worker-outer with that tennis injury?

Sara, still busting them out in the closet?

Eric

Let's See If I Still Have It

Or, Why I went 25% Cash on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007.

In my retirement account I am appropriately invested, which means 100% equity, and probably 50% of that "international" or global or world, and at least 50% of the whole portfolio in small or mid-sized companies.

I can't say that the past year has been particularly stellar for any kind of investment, and most indexes are at or near their highs (except for NASDAQ, which will take a decade to hit it's high) but at least everything is at or near 5 year highs.

That part doesn't worry me at all. In fact, most of the money ever made in the stock market was made when investments went above previous highs. (The very nature of an upward-sloping investment means that overall, time makes you more money than timing.)

So why did I move 25% into "cash"? Because I don't like how the market keeps sputtering at the top.

So why didn't I move 100% into "cash"? Because even with all the fear and bad news floating around, the market is actually chugging along pretty well.

So I'm looking for a buying opportunity if the market dips or corrects a few percent.

I own a mutual fund named Capital World Growth and Income (CWGIX) from American Funds and when you see the picture below, you'll know why I use the Dow Jones to see how well CWGIX is doing. So, therefore, we'll see if selling some of this when DJIA was 13,645 is a good idea or a bad idea...

By the way, www.BigCharts.com is a great resource for stock charts and performance info, that's where I got the chart above.

Eric

OMG!!! I SO look like Colin Farrell!

Hi,

I thought you'd like to take a look at MyHeritage.com.
This website has a *cool* demo of face recognition.

To see the celebrity results I got on my photo, click here: http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/face-recognition-results.php?temp=8e4d5764rwxevo10&server=Server28&database=2&startYear=1800&endYear=2005&loadMethod=myFiles

Take care,
Eric Wade

Fwd: Rainbow Room

In case you wanted to see some dark, quiet, hard-to-see videos of a future superstar, you can preview these on Rebel Channel...

http://www.RebelChannel.com/rr-mistake.htm

http://www.RebelChannel.com/rr-minutes.htm

http://www.RebelChannel.com/rr-goindown.htm

http://www.RebelChannel.com/rr-unwritten.htm

http://www.RebelChannel.com/rr-superstar1.htm

http://www.RebelChannel.com/rr-whoknew.htm

http://www.RebelChannel.com/rr-beforehecheats.htm

http://www.RebelChannel.com/rr-screenname.htm

Teen wins American Idol Underground

Entertainment

Teen wins American Idol Underground

Dakota Dawn Wade of Newport Beach gets first place in worldwide singer/songwriter competition.

By Yvonne Villarreal

Hours before her performance at Hollywood's Rainbow Room on Friday night, Dakota Dawn Wade planned to stand in front of the bathroom mirror with a hairbrush, practicing various poses as she rehearsed songs. It's become a ritual for the Newport Beach teenager so she can make sure she doesn't make any mistakes on stage.

But singing in front of the club's relatively small crowd wouldn't be the first time she was judged; 15-year-old Dakota won first place last week in the American Idol Underground singer/songwriter competition with her original song, "Mistake: Sampleman 7 Remix."

" 'Mistake' is my favorite song to perform," Dakota said. "It's really fun to do, and the crowd really gets into it. So when the remix for it won, I was very excited." Her winnings included $5,000 and many other prizes.

"It was nice to win, Dakota said. "But the most important thing is that I just want my music out there to help and inspire people."

American Idol Underground is a worldwide competition and Internet radio station, Idolunderground.com, that serves as a musical outlet for emerging artists. Music enthusiasts can upload their work to the site, where it is reviewed by Web listeners and celebrity judges, such as Isaac Hayes and one-time American Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell. Although Underground is an official licensee of the American Idol brand, it is not directly affiliated with the show.

"Dakota was our highest-rated electronica artist," said Justin Beckett, the site's executive producer. "There were hundreds in the category … it was fairly competitive. Thumbs up to Dakota. She put together a very catchy and powerful track. It's was all in her performance."

But Underground isn't the only website where Dakota's music can be heard; the teen also has a MySpace music page, myspace.com/dakotadawnmusic, where she has more than 850 friends, many of whom have created their own Dakota fan sites.

"MySpace has helped a lot because it allows me to connect with my fans," Dakota said, "I get to share my music with people; it's amazing."

Many comments on the site are from fans eagerly awaiting her upcoming album.

"Hopefully it will be done by Christmas," Dakota said. "We're trying to figure out if we want to release it or shop it around."

The work to become a music star requires Dakota to do homework on her way to dance classes or show performances.

"She works really, really hard," said Ana Montoya-Wade, Dakota's mother. "She started this so long ago that it's nice to see it just kind of gradually work itself out."

Dakota, a fan of Lilly Allen and Christina Aguilera, unofficially began her music career when she was 5 years old, singing a self-penned ode to her mother entitled, "The Mother's Day Song," although she considers writing her first "real" song at age 9 as her true indoctrination.

"I love the whole writing process," Dakota said. "It's fun going into recording studio, brainstorming, and writing lyrics. I hope to do it for a long time."

Shoulda Learnt More Grammar

I'm thinking that (like all generations before us) its time for our generation to rant about the use of IMPROPER GRAMMAR.

I am throwing my hat in the ring on the side of let's at least TRY to keep our grammar somewhat correct.


Yes, I truly appreciate the uniqueness of the American-English language that comes up with "lite" and "EZ" and "Strategery."

And I totally think G2G and BRB and AFAIK are welcome additions to the lexicon. I'm going to break tradition and NOT rant about 'those damn kids' and their mucked-up language skills. No, the young people don't bother me...

What really chaps my hiney is when I see advertisements that say somehting like "Your Gonna Love It!"

Sheesh...

Try To Find This Feature

I found a way to have Blogger email me when you post...

Kinda cool feature.

Eric

45 The HARD and Easy Way

I wish I had figured this out sooner. Actually, I used to know this, but I had forgotten.

I count DOWN when I do push ups. That way, you have to REALLY want to stop in order to stop before you're done. That makes it easier to get done.

But, I'm still trying to get them all done in one set.

I'm thinking Alex is a genius for getting us started on this... my back pain is actually going away -- something that a couple years of physical therapy wasn't accomplishing.

Ha! (Thanks, Sara.)

Well, it looks like the problem was that Eric's invitation had never actually arrived. Now I'm all set.

I am currently at work, so I'll keep this short. Jennifer had asked me what the difference was between this and just sending an increasingly long email around. I would say we gain in linear-ity what we are losing in simplicity - we all know how to check our email, as opposed to adding 'check the blog to make sure mom's house hasn't gotten knocked over' to our daily to-do list.

When we add a comment to a post, it sort of hides there where someone would have to really be looking for it to notice it. So we should all agree to post only irrelevant things in the comments of the already-irrelevant posts. VFR 1000-R pictures should be their own post, so they are not buried or hidden from view.

The attached picture is the view from my office. Well, not really, but is a picture of the hospital, and it is on my screensaver. If you haven't been to La Crosse, you should come.

In the words of Dennis Hopper - Once we get out of the 80's, the 90's are going to make the 60's look like the 50's.

Peace Out!

Alex

Sara's Exploits Continue

I am taking a photography class to learn how to use my awesome new camera...

As always a little part of the ongoing search for some career where I can be creative, enjoy myself, and make money - ha ha ha - someday I guess.

Mostly I just love it, I have so much fun with my camera, and I learn new stuff every time I use it!

I had to try the picture attaching thing, so if it doesn't work for me either then this post won't make as much sense...

recent family photo

By the way -

 

The Wisconsin Wades just got back from a great vacation touring Wisconsin. Here's an attempt to attach a photo.

 

Alex again

A little more to the story...

The way I remember the free hot water story:

 

We moved into a place with a beautiful atrium, an elevator, and a spiral staircase, knowing it would be a boon to our social lives. It also had a gubmint subsidy because they used passive solar to preheat water that went into a giant boiler under the building where the water to refill your hot water heater came from, so as to make the tenant's hot water heating bill low.

 

That summer, Eric worked nights at (my) Waffle House and I worked all the other hours, so pretty much no one was home AND awake at night. It was a west-facing place with a gas stove, and so the rare evening one or both of us were home, we could cook and dine by sun light. Somehow or other we decided to turn off the electricity (to stick it to the man) to save money.

 

One morning, while getting ready to take a cold shower, I had the sink running for some unknown reason, and the water started to warm up. We both immediately realized that our room-temperature water was draining out of our water heater and was being replaced with hot water.

 

From then on, we would get up a few minutes early, turn on the hot water in the sink, and go back to bed for a few minutes. Viola! Hot showers.

 

Eventually PNM got a nasty letter from the Rio Grande Conservancy District telling them to turn our power back on before we depleted the aquifer. Heh.

 

Alex

Justin Bruno Wanted

I need everyone's help to encourage or incite Justin Bruno to participate in this.

I want to hear from Justin.

Re: An easy way to post

You can leave my name or change it - either way, probably shouldn't be Locke though :)

A few random thoughts to get things started

WANTED:

Dead or Alive

For unwarranted bottle licking, accessory to bottle licking,

conspiracy to lick bottles, promotion of unwarrented bottle licking, licking while having a blue tounge,

unlicensed blue tounge usage within city limits (multiple counts),

Excessive chest hair exposure, and looking too much alike.

Is that an abnormally large beer in Eric's hand, or was he just that small that many years ago? It's hard to tell because the frames on his glasses make his face look so much smaller as well. Alex looks normal size, but he is behind Eric, so he could actually be way bigger and much further back than it appears, holding the same size beer. Did you two go through a period where one grew quicker than the other? Actually, as a serious question, did you, or have you always been the same size (sans waistlines!)? On that note. I stuck to the push-up plan for all of like 3 days. I am going to start again, maybe right now. OK, just did 15. wow, that was amazingly hard considering I'm not even 28 yet. Megan and I have been playing Racquette Ball lately, and swimming. I'm trying to work some Tennis in there too, we'll see, but we're trying to get into shape, at least get active together.

Anyways, Kudos Eric for setting up the blog. And as for your affinity for Google, have you seen this picture? I laugh every time I see it. I don't know where I saw it first, but that's just plain funny.

Another thing that I have been meaning to ask you, Eric, is, since I know you're a Tool fan, now that you live in LA, what do you think of the song, "ænema?" If you're not familar with which song I speak of, here are the lyrics:

Some say the end is near.

Some say we'll see armageddon soon.

I certainly hope we will.

I sure could use a vacation from this

*Chorus*

*Bulls*** three ring circus sideshow of

Freaks

Here in this hopeless f***ing hole we call LA

The only way to fix it is to flush it all away.

Any f***ing time.

Any f***ing day.

Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona bay.*

Fret for your figure and

Fret for your latte and

Fret for your hairpiece and

Fret for your lawsuit and

Fret for your prozac and

Fret for your pilot and

Fret for your contract and

Fret for your car.

*Chorus*

Some say a comet will fall from the sky.

Followed by meteor showers and tidal waves.

Followed by faultlines that cannot sit still.

Followed by millions of dumbfounded dipshits.
Some say the end is near.

Some say we'll see armageddon soon.

I certainly hope we will cuz

I sure could use a vacation from this
Silly s***, stupid s***...
One great big festering neon distraction,

I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied.
Learn to swim.

Mom's gonna fix it all soon.

Mom's comin' round to put it back the way it ought to be.
Learn to swim.
F*** L Ron Hubbard and

F*** all his clones.

F*** all those gun-toting

Hip gangster wannabes.
Learn to swim.
F*** retro anything.

F*** your tattoos.

F*** all you junkies and

F*** your short memory.
Learn to swim.
F*** smiley glad-hands

With hidden agendas.

F*** these dysfunctional,

Insecure actresses.
Learn to swim.
Cuz I'm praying for rain

And I'm praying for tidal waves

I wanna see the ground give way.

I wanna watch it all go down.

Mom please flush it all away.

I wanna watch it go right in and down.

I wanna watch it go right in.

Watch you flush it all away.
Time to bring it down again.

Don't just call me pessimist.

Try and read between the lines.
I can't imagine why you wouldn't

Welcome any change, my friend.
I wanna see it all come down.

suck it down.

flush it down.

An easy way to post

Hi,
I made it super easy to post to the Wade blog.

send an email to:
**your-username-here**.4wades@blogger.com and it will be a "post" to the blog. Or you can save this email in your gmail and "reply to all" and that will work, too.

If you want to initiate a conversation, you can!

Eric

Fwd: trees

Roberta Idzorek wrote:

Here are a couple of photos of the trees behind our house. One of the larger, still green, pines was blown over in yesterday's high winds (40-60 mph). For comparison, the other photo is taken May 2002, 2 years after the fire. Things are greener this year, we have had more rain.
Life goes on.

Roberta

Slow Pitch Softball - I just got it!

I was just watching a video on YouTube or something and I saw some guys my age playing "slow-pitch" softball and I thought "lame!" Too bad they can't play REAL baseball or softball! I mean, these guys were hitting just about every time they got to bat! Those big arching, looping pitches... easy easy easy!

Then I thought about it a little longer and I thought-- that's the softball for me! Seriously, I'm 39, never was GREAT at baseball like Matt, and if I was gonna go out for a few hours and have fun, it sure would be funner not to go 1 for 3 at bat.

Man does your perspective on life change when you realize it would be nice to get some pitches thrown your way that you could actually hit!

Here's something I'll bet Sara and Matt didn't know:

While Alex and I were in college, for a while we lived in an apartment that had solar-powered hot water. We liked it a lot.

Especially since it allowed us to go three months without turning on the electricity.

The only thing we missed about electricity was Alex's massive Kenwood stereo system that he had. Buy was it tough to get along without music.

Will Other Wades Actually Post to This?

Hi Family,
I created a blog to see if I can get some family interraction.

I thought it would be cool to set something in motion that, if it works, will start to build a somewhat permanent record of our communications between ourselves.

If it doesn't work, then at least I created a blog.

This morning I set a new personal (adult) record of 40 pushups. I know Dr. Alex kicks my ass at this, but I am okay with that because he has a lot of time to think up new strategies for pushups because he only sleeps a few hours each night, whereas I try to get 6 hours of sleep, thereby robbing myself of valuable push-up prep time.

Have At It!