Effective Thoughts

Following up on my participation in the Safelite Triathlon to benefit MaAfrika Tikkun , I indeed finished and more importantly, raised $1000. Thank you again for your generous contributions! Regards to the Safelite folks who organized a safe, fun and entertaining event. Held in Las Vegas, I typically think of one (or two) things: gambling. However, out by Lake Mead is gorgeous. The event utilized the lake, trails and some serious up-and-down hills through rocky terrain to deliver a challenging run, swim and bike.

In April, I'll be competing in the Safelite Charity Triathlon benefiting MaAfrika Tikkun , a charity charged with reducing hunger and improving health care for children in South Africa. If you care to donate, please click on the Donate button in the right pane or visit my page at http://www.firstgiving.com/JeffHunsaker . Thank you!

Last Sunday, I completed the Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon . I beat my goal (under 2 hours) but the last 4 miles were killer. It showed . Training offered for an enjoyable summer of exercise but I'm hanging up the running shoes for a while...need to work on strength, flexibility, and balance.

Called out by Jeff Blankenburg (isn't this like a chain letter from the 80's? ;-)... How old were you when you started programming? Trying to remember...I think about 11. Somehow, my Dad had this premonition prediction that computers would become important and bought a Timex-Sinclair 1000 for me--with a whopping 2KB of memory. Reviewing the manual on how to program with BASIC (not sure about those semi-colons...): 10 Print "Hello"; 20 Goto 10; Run I had written my first program! I tried saving it to the cassette tape (huh?) drive but that never seemed to work quite right. About the same time, my neighbor acquired a Commodore 64 --with a 5 1/4" floppy! (they were loaded ;-). He also subscribed to some Commodore magazine where they listed (yes, this was before the Internet...and before including disks with magazines) 1,000+ line programs which one could type in. Well, we actually did this. That's where I learned to type without looking and when I first ...

So I'm driving to work this morning and I casually glance at the license plate of the car next to me: it's the first 3 digits of my Social Security Number followed by the last 4! (the middle 2 were absent) What are the odds against this? If it's a message, I sure as hell can't figure out the meaning. The driver and car didn't exhibit any distinctive features. Strangely, it was an Illinois plate. (Pretty sure I wasn't being filmed for some sort of Life Lock commercial...)

My wife kicked into an organizing spree last week purchasing a companion shelving unit to house kid stuff matching one we already have. I took an hour or so putting this second unit together Saturday. I'm one screw away from finishing and...crap, this one isn't the same color. You've got to be kidding. Explicative. Explicative. Explicative. Yep, the new one is "espresso" with the old being "honey". C'mon, get real people. I'm completely pissed at myself for not checking and/or noticing sooner. Taking this guy apart isn't tough but putting it back into the need-to-be-a-packaging-engineer packaging feels daunting. Well, I managed to get it close and re-pack it with some semblance...and off to Easton I go. My wife called ahead and Pottery Barn Kids told us to just have our receipt and pull into a little, nearby driveway. Ok, fine. Well, they've changed the traffic patterns at Easton and it's a PITA to get around; but I finally plunk my...

Isn't pride a sin? I think so. Anyway, I take great pride in keeping my 12 year old Honda Accord in working condition. I'm gonna drive that POS until the wheels fall off. Except for a ton of dings and a few quarks, it's actually in good shape. As long as it gets me where I'm going, I'm happy. A few days ago, my headlight burned out. Ugh. I replaced them once before (I told you, I've had this car for a long, long time) so I figured, "no problem". I went to Advanced Auto , got the right bulb, and scooted home...again proud of myself for only spending $8. I get home, pop open the hood, move the radiator overflow tank out of the way and get to work. First off, the cap/gasket-like ring is jammed. After a half hour, I get out the serious tools: screwdriver and hammer. That's right...it's wrecking time! Even after bloodying myself, the gasket won't budge. Ok, time to call in the big guns: Lockjaw Pliers! I locked on to the old socket and just star...