Eagle in Pitman

Eagle in Pitman

The other day I was going out for a bike ride and as I was traveling I saw the most incredible sight I have ever seen in Pitman and that was a bald eagle perched in a tree overlooking the lake by Betty Park.  As soon as I got my iPhone out to take a picture, the eagle flew away, but luckily I was able to capture at least his departure from the tree.

I am so glad that these incredible animals are starting to make a comeback in this area.  To see one of these creatures out in the wild was awe inspiring and I hope that it is a sight that Billy and his kids will also be able to enjoy.

Trip Back in Time

A Trip Back in Time

The last two days were spent traveling back in time with the people of Mantua Township and Drexel University.  Earlier this summer I read an article in the Courier Post about a fossil site in Gloucester County and I wrote to the reporter about how we could visit the site.  To my surprise, he wrote back to me and put me in touch with a person from the Mantua Township Government.  She was the most amazing government official I have ever had contact with.  She got in touch with me almost immediately and was very eager to help us out.

A few weeks ago she contacted me with dates that I would be able to take Billy to the fossil site and when I responded she also informed me of a trip that they were taking to Drexel University to visit the lab of the paleontologist who is working at the site in Mantua.  Of course I jumped that this opportunity.

On Monday night at 5:15 we meet up with about fifty other people who were interested in going to Drexel and took a bus into the city to learn about the fossils found in Mantua and also in Argentina.  The building at Drexel was amazing with its five story spiral staircase and its living wall.  The lab was also pretty cool with its three dimensional scanner and printers.  Finally, the lecture was unbelievable, as we learned about some of the rare finds that occurred both in Argentina and in Mantua.

Then today I took Billy with me to the fossil site and we spent over two hours looking for fossils.  Billy loved every minute of it and found a bunch of little fossils and had lots of questions for the people who worked there.

We are hoping we get another chance to go there soon and I am sure these are memories that he will never forget.

Trip to Cherry Crest Adventure Farm

Yesterday Billy and I took a trip to Lancaster to go to the Cherry Crest Adventure Farm and we had a great time.  I feel like this might be the last year where he will enjoy a trip like this and I enjoyed every minute of watching him experience all the things that are available at this farm.

We arrived right when the farm was opening for the day and we immediately went to the peddle cars.  We were able to ride them for about 10 minutes before anyone else showed up to join us on the track.  Below is a picture that I took as I went flying past Billy on one of the laps.

After we played on the carts we then did every other activity that the farm had to offer.  Everything that is simple and hands on and you feel like you are totally in control of your experience.  I prefer this type of amusement to the ones that you find most places where you are a passive passenger on a ride that does the same thing hour after hour and day after day. 

One of the things that Billy most enjoyed was the crawl through hay maze.  The maze is created by bales of hay that are stacked in such a way that once you enter the maze you are in complete darkness.  The only time you get any light is about halfway through the maze where they created an opening that you can climb out of and get on top of the hay bales.  Billy really enjoyed this part of the maze.  I followed him through the maze once and he did it at least three more times by himself.

After we did all the different stations that the farm had available, Billy wanted to go see the animals and specifically to see the chicks.  They have an area where they are constantly hatching new chicks and you can watch the entire process at the different stations they have available.  Conveniently the final station is the lunch counter where they sell the freshest chicken sandwiches you will even encounter.  Billy most enjoyed the station where you get to hold the chicks in your hand.

It was sad to leave the farm and I hope that he will want to go back again next year, but if not, I have many great memories of the times that I have taken him here in the past.

2011

2008

Ryan Madson in Glassboro

Today I took Billy to see Ryan Madson at the Grand Opening of the Liscio's Bakery in Glassboro.  Billy is a big Phillies fan and he was very excited to see his first Phillie up close and personal.

We arrived at around 10:40 am and Billy was able to take part in the Whiffle Ball home run derby.  We then saw the mayor cut the ribbon to open the store and finally we waited in line for almost an hour waiting for the our turn to meet Ryan Madson.

Rowan Planetarium

Billy and I went to the final show at the Rowan Planetarium using the old planetarium projector.  The venue will be closed for a few months and reopen with a high definition projection system.  This is very exciting, but we will miss the old projector.  It won't feel like a planetarium without this old projector.

Snowman

Today Billy and I spent some time sledding at the high school.  The temperature also rose to a high enough value to make some nice snow balls and also snow men.  If you are driving by the high school in town, just look out into the open field and you will see the snow men that we made.

Penn's Landing Skating

As a family we were able to spend the day, December 28, 2010, at Penn's Landing and the Independence Hall area of Philadelphia.

We started out the day by going to the Constitution Center.  I was not overly impressed by it, for I felt like I could have spent the same amount of time on the internet in my house and learned more than I did from visiting the center.  There was a nice presentation in the theater and the art of the American Solider exhibit was nice, but all the permanent exhibits seemed like I could get the information from the internet.

After the center, we spent a few hours skating at Penn's Landing.  The ice was a bit rough; in fact, I think the ice in the parking lot was smoother than the ice on the rink.  Still it was a great day.  Billy did great and would have skated all day if he wasn't overcome with hunger.

We went to a little Mexican restaurant that is right by Penn's Landing and had one of the best meals of our lives.  All in all, it was a great day.

Dover Air Force Base

Billy and I spent the day with Uncle Jimmy at Dover Air Force Base.  We not only were able to see the museum and the planes outside the museum, but we were treated to see a few live planes in takeoff and landing maneuvers.  We had a great day and look forward to going back again when the weather is a little less cold.

New Years Eve at LWG

Last night we spent New Year's Eve at Longwood Gardens.  It was a great way to end the old year and usher in the new.  Even though there were a lot of people there, we had no trouble parking, paying, or seeing any of the things we wanted to see.

The fireworks, garden railway and fountain display were enjoyed by Billy and we hope to go back again next year.

Fios vs. Comcast

I finally had my Verizon contract end I was able to switch back to Comcast.  Here is my score card:

TV:

Verizon has the better interface for navigating the box.  They have a better DVR system and more organization for their channels. Verizon has a much better HD picture than comcast.

Comcast allows me to hook the cable directly into my secondary TV without using a converter box.

To me this battle goes to Verizon


Internet:

Verizon claims to have a faster speed, but their internet speed was my primary gripe.  At times it seemed like I was put in a que and my request wouldn't process for 20 seconds.  Once it started working it was tolerably fast.

Comcast so far has a more consistent signal.  No slowdowns and no outages and a speed comparable to verizon.

To me this battle goes to Comcast

Customer Service:

Believe it or not, Comcast has great customer service all the sudden.  No wait times on the phone and friendly, competent people on the other end.

Battle goes to Comcast.

For now Comcast will keep my business.

Strange Phenomena

The other day Billy and I were playing at a park in Pitman when above our head we saw a really cool semi-circular cloud bow. I have seen plenty of sun dogs before but this was the first time I have ever seen a bow that arched away from the sun. That is, if you completed the semi-circle, the sun would not be at the center or even the anti-center.

Here is a far view:

Here is a close view:

Update: It turns out that this is what is known as a Circumzenithal Arc. Thanks to the good people at Atmospheric Phenomena for getting back to me with an answer as to what formed this really cool spectra in the sky.

Face Recognition Technology

I don't know what to say about this technology. Is it too good or not good enough when it presents the picture below as one of the options for me to name? This was a Christmas ornament in the background of one of my pictures.

A shrinking Gallon

Recently I was painting Billy's room and the first container of paint I bought was 1 US gallon. No big deal, this has always been the size of paint cans. I expected nothing different.

The second can of paint looked exactly the same, but as I was painting I noticed that it was actually only 3 15/16th of a gallon. I was cheated out of 1/16th of gallon of paint.

About a day later I got another container of paint and this time it was 3 7/8th of a gallon. This time I was cheated out of 2/16th of a gallon.

At this rate I will be getting droppers of paint by the time Billy is 7 years old.

Redemption

Today I received the most unbelievable call in my life. I was painting Billy's room when the phone rang and when I got it, the person on the other end was a representative from Verizon. She called to say that the person I talked to yesterday made a mistake and that I am entitled to a $150 gift card. Not only that, but she said that they would give us 3 months of HBO and Cinemax to make up for the troubles that I went through yesterday.

All I can say is WOW!!

TV Troubles

Well, here we are in July and we have still not received my $150 Visa card I was promised with my upgrade to Fios TV. Not only have we not received the $150 yet, but they charged us for installation on the first couple of bills during May and June.

Today I finally decided to call and find out what was up with the deal I was promised. After about one hour on the phone I learned that I will not get the $150 card. The person who signed me up for this service lied to me when they told me I was eligible for the $150 reward card. I already had a Verizon Double Play and switching to a Triple Play would not allow me to get the $150 gift card.

I was also informed that only the activation fee was waived, not the installation fee. So I was going to be charged $54 for them to run 5 meters of coax cable to my tv. I fought this because they used my EXISTING coax cable. The operator tried to call the installer to verify this. When she couldn't get a hold of the installer, she credited for the $54 installation cost.

Finally, I asked her about activating the DVR features on my HD box. She said it would cost $15.99. I asked, "one time fee". She responded, "No, each month". What planet are people on that pay these prices? I already have the hardware on the box....they want me to pay $16 a month to use it.

I am looking forward to March 19, 2010. That is the day my contract expires and I return to full over the air tv.

A quick storms rolls through Glassboro

Today a quick storm rolled through Glassboro and I was able to capture its approach on film.

Philly comes to Billy

This wednesday we got to see the Philly Phanatic, the Phillies Ball Girls and the Eagles' Mascot (Swoop). They all came out to community day in Pitman and we had a great time.

TV Times

After one year using only an antenna for my television service, I am once again getting paid tv. The good thing is that I am the one who is getting paid to have the tv service. Last year we signed on to a two year deal with Verizon that gave us phone and internet for $75 a month and we didn't want to pay the extra money for TV.

Recently, we signed onto a promotion that will actually raise or monthly bill by $10 a month and will allow us to also get tv. The offer also comes with a $150 Visa card and $30 off the first bill. So over the course of the one year left on our contract we will pay $90 extra dollars and get $150 dollars back. So they are paying us $5 a month to have the tv.

We didn't want to have pay for any boxes or other equipment so we are only getting the service on one tv and the other tvs will stay on the antenna.

Even though I haven't watched anything during the week or more that we have had the new service, I am looking forward to the hockey playoffs and the start of baseball season.

Carolers on Christmas Eve Eve

Last night a few very special former students stopped over to sing Christmas carols for us.  They have been doing this for the past few years and it really helps to make the Christmas very special for us.  I wanted to share this special time with everyone I know, so I am putting up a three minute video of some of the songs they sang for us.

Weekly Grind

I haven't been posting that often lately because Billy and I have been in a pretty regular weekly pattern without many new things happening.

On mondays Billy has been doing Tumble Times for the last couple of months.  After a couple of accidents over the summer with Billy falling up steps I figured we better get him some coordination practice and therefore I signed him up for the gym.  He goes about one hour a week and he practices balancing activities, tumbling activities and other gymnastic activities.  He really enjoys going, but I am not sure how much it has helped.

On Tuesday we have hockey practice and on Saturday we have hockey games at the YMCA.  He does really well for part of the game, but he doesn't make it through all three periods.  By some point in the third period he becomes a statue on ice and seems totally oblivious to what is happening around him.

Finally, on Sundays we go to Rowan for swim lessons.  He has been taking swim lessons now at the Y and now at Rowan for almost two years and still he is not really swimming.  He has a great time at Swim lessons but I think he still doesn't quite get that he is there to learn to swim and not just to have fun.

This monday if the weather is good we are going to skip out on tumble times and instead go to Rowan for a chance to see the moon and some planets through the telescope.