More Photos

I seem to be slowly turning my rambling blog into a photo blog. Hopefully nobody minds too much.

Here's a picture of my cousin Josh and his son Keaton who was recently featured in the "Keaton Rides His Toy Tractor" video I posted. I wanted to get a good picture of him up here because he has the prettiest eyelashes and when he's a teenager, we can make fun of him for being such a pretty little boy.



And here's a picture of Alana, Cordell & Ashton playing in the ice. Ashton thinks he's being funny by making faces. Normally he's pretty cute.

Fantastic Caverns Thanks Utility Workers

Utility workers, families offered free cave tours
© 2006, Springfield News-Leader

Fantastic Caverns in Springfield will offer complimentary cave tour admissions to regional utility workers and their families, said spokesman Kirk Hansen.

The free tours are extended to employees of Ozark Electric Cooperative, City Utilities of Springfield, Empire District Electric, Southwest Electric Cooperative and Webster Electric Cooperative. Additionally, all tree-trimming, line crews and assisting co-ops contracted by the regional utilities to work with the ice disaster are invited to visit the cave with their family.

Power was restored to the Springfield attraction Monday evening and the cave opened for business on Wednesday.

“Many of the power poles between the caverns and the power source were either broken or bent over,” Steve Thompson, general manager, said in a press release. “Given the scope of the destruction and the overwhelming response that would be needed, we were surprised and thankful that our power was restored as quickly as it was.”

To receive their free cave tour tickets, the utility employee or contractor must present valid photo and employee Identification. The cave staff will issue complimentary cave tour tickets to the employee/contractor and their immediate family anytime during 2007.

Keaton Rides His Toy Tractor

This is an adorable video of my cousin Josh's adorable son Keaton, who is determined to ride his toy tractor. Unfortunately, the tractor is a bit small.

Some Random Ice Storm Pictures

I Had Visitors

In a very rare event, my parents came up to Springfield and brought my neice Jessica and my nephew Charlie with them to do some shopping at Bass Pro. I think in the year I have lived here, my mom has been here 4 times, my dad never and Charlie & Jessica twice. So, it was nice getting to see them. BTW...this is a cell phone picture, so don't mouth me about the quality.

Stupid Weather

This whole freaking ice storm could not have come at a worse time for me. I'm sure mother nature isn't out to get me on a personal level, but right now it seems like it. I have so much personal stuff going on and the last thing I needed was to be iced in an hour away from my family and friends. Especially since they've all made plans to get iced in together and spend the next few days playing cards and keeping each other company. I will be alone.

Blah, Blah, Blog

So far, 2007 has been very uneventfull. I am struggling to find anything to post about because I have no personal stories (at least not that I can share) and everything else just seems boring. So, my little blog is going through another one of it's slow periods. I don't really like it, but I just have nothing to say.

Also, for those of you who remember I live 4 days in Springfield and 3 days in small-town Missouri about an hour and a half south of here, I no longer have internet at my 3 day-a-week home. So, even if something exciting were to come along over the next 3 days - you wouldn't know about it anyway.

Bummer.

Jerry Jacobs Signs Off

Tonight will be Jerry's final broadcast before leaving KY3 to begin a 5 year committment to the U.S. Army. He is scheduled to begin basic training on Wednesday, January 10 at Fort Benning, Georgia. It may sound like a strange move, but those who know him are not surprised by his decision to change careers at his age.

Still, you have to wonder why someone his age would put themselves in a position which may lead to Iraq. When Jacob's was 36, the impact of 9/11 made him wish he could enlist, but at the time he was over the age limit. Now, the age limit has been raised to 42 and Jerry signed up 13 days before he was too old.

We'll miss you Jerry. But we're proud of you and wouldn't want to keep you from going. Thank you for spending time with us every week and being the special, caring person that only you can be. We all wish you well and hope to see you soon.

How The Hell Did That Happen?

Sunday was an amazing day for KC Chiefs fans. A freaky day filled with a whole series of games that should not have gone the way they did. But, the stars aligned and Lady Luck showered us with her blessings - the Chiefs made the playoffs!

Not only did I have to stress out over the nerve-wracking game that was played in Arrowhead (final score 35-30), I also had to worry about the fact that both the Tennessee Titans and the Cincinnati Bengals had to lose their games. They were both going up against really strong teams so I was pretty optimistic about those losses and indeed both teams did end up losing. But in order for the Chiefs to slide into post-season play, a third team had to lose. The San Francisco 49er's had to beat the Denver Bronco's in Denver at Mile High Stadium. I wasn't expecting that to happen at all. The Niner's haven't exactly had a great year and usually have trouble winning on the road. I figured the Bronco's would trample them pretty easily. But the game was very exciting to watch and even ended up in overtime where San Fran finally kicked a field goal to win 26-23. By the end of it all, I had absolutely no fingernails left.

Normally seeing Denver lose to anybody during any point of the season just tickles me to death, but although I did enjoy the fact that they lost the game, I was devastated to hear that they lost a player later that night. Cornerback Darrent Williams was killed in a drive-by shooting hours after the game. He will be missed, he was a great player and seemed to be an outstanding young man.

The Griffin iTrip Auto Rocks My World

For Christmas, my Dad gave me the perfect gift - a check. Usually any money I get for my birthday or Christmas goes towards gas for my car or a late utility bill, but this year I was determined to spend it on stuff. And I knew right away exactly what kind of stuff I wanted to buy. I needed to be able to listen to my 60GB video iPod in my car.

So, the day after Christmas and it was off to Best Buy for me. I looked over all of the FM transmitters and I decided I wanted to get one of the ones that also charges my iPod. That way I can never be caught without my music. There were several different brand names (and prices) to choose from. But I have a unique problem with my car. The cigarette lighter is in the floorboard between the front seats. Most of these transmitter/chargers will also provide a dock for your iPod, but if mine were docked on the floorboard between the seats it would not be convenient to reach, much less see the screen to choose new songs.

And then I saw it, the perfect product to solve all my problems. The Griffin iTrip Auto was the answer. It is an FM transmitter that also charges my iPod and it's corded instead of docked so that I am free to pick it up and change songs anytime I need to. Not to mention the fact that there is a 10-30 foot range on the transmitter. I have been jamming in my car ever since. If any of you need a way to play your mp3 player in the car, you should check out the Griffin line of products. They not only support iPods, but also make accessories for Zune and Sansa.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a good holiday season, cause now it's back to the grind.