tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36236032717150321772024-03-19T05:49:52.167-07:00Something I Know Nothing AboutMichael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-53351336730696347802009-11-14T06:04:00.000-08:002009-11-14T06:47:44.955-08:00Bad Droid, Bad Droid, Good VerizonHad my first REALLY negative experience with my droid yesterday... Something that is almost unforgiveable with a PDA but not uncommon with electronic devices.<br /><br />It just stopped working.<br /><br />At the office I had put the phone into sleep mode while I was in my cubical but when I tried to power up the phone it just would not startup. My first though was dooooooooh I let the battery run out but that was not it as it would not start even after being plugged into the charger. One thing I should mention here is the charger indicator light did come on when I plugged the droid into the charger but that was all that happened. Soooooo on my way home it was a side trip to the Verizon store with me thinking everything I had done in the last week would need to be done again and I would need to reenter all of my contacts… <br /><br />Once at the store clerk #2 referred to seeing the problem before and suggested to the clerk #1 the battery be removed and reset back into the phone. Clerk #1 gave this a try but…. Nothing. The two clerks and my Droid then disappeared into the employees only section of the store leaving me to ponder the meaning of life and how much easier it must have been in the olds days with the pony express being the fastest form of communication. A few minutes later the two clerks reappeared and gave me the news… My phone was “DOA”…. It was officially the first “DOA” Droid that store had seen, causing me to first puff out my chest and then wonder what I was going to do now. Well Verizon came thru and replaced the phone. They took the SD card out of DOA phone, placed it into a new out of the box phone, and then enabled the phone for me and I was off. <br /><br />THIS IS A MAJOR PLUS FOR VERIZON!!! They will gain far more in positive advertisement from me talking about this no hassle customer service experience than the cost of that phone they gave me. Had the racked me over the coals about all the things I might have done to the phone and given me a hard time about replacing the defective item I would have ripped them apart in this blog as well as talking about this experience to all of my friend… Instead they get this nice comment and nice comments when I convey this story to all my friends. Oh and I do like to talk so many people will hear this.<br /><br /><br />So what did I lose? Mostly just phone setup stuff that was easy and not very time consuming to replace… wireless router settings (although it did still have the names of the routers just not the feature turned on), Email connection settings, home page settings, and browser favorites. It automagically knew that I was missing apps that I had previously downloaded and reminded me to download them again, all my pictures and videos were still on the SD card, and most importantly because it syncs my contacts with iGoogle it was able to resync all of my contacts back to the phone (This was nice as my wife broke a phone in the past and she had to reenter all of her contact information manually).Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-28676850344019200802009-11-14T05:06:00.001-08:002009-11-14T05:52:30.256-08:00Droid at the Metallica concertTook my Droid with me to the Metallica concert on Tuesday to see how it worked inside the HSBC arena (my signal is not always good there) and to see how it did with videos and pictures in that environment.<br /><br />Overall I was happy with the experience but I found out the hard way that the position of the camera on the phone is not exactly optimal to me. I have more than 1 pic and video with my finger blocking the top of the picture as I was trying to hold the camera above my head to see over everyone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Reception:</span> Ok but not much better that my old phone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Videos:</span> Came out nice (especially when the house lights were on). Overall I was very please with this feature even the sound is decent for 18,000 screaming fans and a heavy metal band. I will always use the videos to remember the first time I got to hear Metallica play *One*, *Enter Sandman*, *Seek & Destroy*, and *Nothing Else Matters* in person. On a slightly down note the videos do seem a bit shaky but I was not in the environment to judge this at all.<br /><br />Note: The droid seems to have a 10 min max video length. This may be a configurable option but I have not been able to find it yet and feel 10 min is enough time for me so I have not intentions of looking any further at this time. Just note that after 9 or 9.5 min the video timer turns red and starts to count down (rather than up) and the camera appears to stop recording at 10 min.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pictures:</span><br />The non-zoomed pictures were nice (as seen in pic #1 below) but the biggest disappointment for me was the quality of the zoomed pictures (seen in pic #2 below). I took a bunch of pictures with the camera zoomed in (not sure why as I was 5 rows of standing people from the stage) and those pictures are a bit dull and grainy. <br /><br />One thing I did like was the double tap zoom. Simply double tapping the touch screen will zoom the camera. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Battery Life:</span><br />Acceptable. I took about 70-75 pics, 30-40 min of video, and was checking email, text messages & sports scores between bands and the battery lasted through the night. I even made a call outside the arena after the concert. I don't want to pretend the battery life was great but it took the phone from about 80%-90% charge down to 40% or less (that was 30-40 min of video with the display on).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">No Zoom:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiSPIjGucu19JUmk92EC-I3Ay8LYmG8gBcu4V8Yc0psnuHFqct6uftwjaINE-zUlEeNnWENauacMbRYcSjC3ELEw-UZZSBm_oJYJtAUT_5irHbwEKQ6y1abZCaGC1uH51aj8KlTL0PIU/s1600-h/2009-11-10+22.37.49.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiSPIjGucu19JUmk92EC-I3Ay8LYmG8gBcu4V8Yc0psnuHFqct6uftwjaINE-zUlEeNnWENauacMbRYcSjC3ELEw-UZZSBm_oJYJtAUT_5irHbwEKQ6y1abZCaGC1uH51aj8KlTL0PIU/s320/2009-11-10+22.37.49.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403946244344195666" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Zoom:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkU9g_mafRiEDxsxLx3Tm8-jDv6AFwZC4M131Qi6cd8Kicvy3jIAupUDvO5yBEawdZkRy4XgADTQ6MqBv3OGklYqiCTYP64c99lsZB61-r4C5Nz_8zyNMP6ltOX1UKItlwHVDEtXjh50/s1600-h/2009-11-10+21.30.19.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkU9g_mafRiEDxsxLx3Tm8-jDv6AFwZC4M131Qi6cd8Kicvy3jIAupUDvO5yBEawdZkRy4XgADTQ6MqBv3OGklYqiCTYP64c99lsZB61-r4C5Nz_8zyNMP6ltOX1UKItlwHVDEtXjh50/s320/2009-11-10+21.30.19.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403947134647194466" /></a>Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-69233069704614720682009-11-08T18:02:00.000-08:002009-11-08T19:47:13.113-08:00Motorola Droid Day -2Still not used to the keyboard but getting better..<br /><br />Today I connected the the Droid to 2 E-mail accounts and can now get E-mail from both as well as have a single combined inbox. It took about 5 min to get a Pop 3 and an Exchange Server E-mail account setup so I give this a thumbs up. I want to use the E-mail for a week or so before I comment further but so far it looks usable and rather functional.<br /><br />I have grown a bit skeptical of the Droid's battery life. I have used the phone regularly for browsing, text messaging, and phone calls and appear to be getting just over a full day out of a battery charge (not a problem for me but may be a problem for someone who uses the phone a bit heavier than I do)... I still think the jury is out on this as I am probably using my new toy a bit more than usual. I will give it a week or two before I judge this.<br /><br />My Browsing experiences are getting better but I still have not found a way to access an open browser window from my "Home" screen without first opening a new session and then changing to an already open browser window (maybe I need to RTFM).<br /><br />I was struggling a bit to get the phone connected to my PC but finally broke down and RTFM. In the manual I found the URL for the the droid online support site http://www.motorola.com/support/droid and on that site I found that I had to "Mount" the phone before it would appear as a drive on my PC. The steps to mount the phone are simple but not intuitive. I doubt I would have discovered these on my own :)Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-21674377897283148752009-11-07T07:08:00.000-08:002009-11-07T09:04:49.452-08:00Motorola DroidI did something a bit unusual for me and purchased an electronic product the day it hit the store (marriage does change people). I bought a Motorola Droid. Seems like everyone I know has been using an iPhone but AT&T was not getting my money as their network around my house and the cabin BWE and I go to leaves a LOT to be desired. So I waited and waited and waited and finally Verizon came out with something that is comparable to the iPhone (Yes I am very stubborn and I would have waited till 3Q of 2010 for Verizon's iPhone if I had to).<br /><br />This blog might be a bit pre-mature as I have had the phone less than 24 but I wanted to write something I could point friends and family too as they ask me questions about the phone.<br /><br />so What do I think?<br /><br />Overall I like the phone it took me just a few minutes of discovering to get to the point where once again I was texting and making phone calls. A few minutes after that I was browsing the internet and had my first twitter app installed on the phone. So now I can tweet and see other tweets right on my phone (with my old LG ENV I tweeted using SMS and never was able to get it to see other tweets). Ten 10 minutes after that I had the blue tooth head set working, the phone was connecting to my home wireless router and automatically switching between that (when available) and Verizon<br /><br />Then.... the Honey-Do list took over so I had to put my new toy away for a little while... so at this point I have not hooked it up to any of my E-mail accounts, installed other apps, or really gotten a chance to do much geek stuff with it but I will follow with a blog about that as soon as I get to it.<br /><br />Like<br />1. This might sound simple but I *love* the screen locking this phone provides. All the phones I have had in the past seem to screw this feature up one way or another. My basic Philosophy is that if I leave the phone for a set period of time it should lock (automatically without any help or keyword from me). The phone should stay locked through any activity (including a restart) *EXCEPT* for answering an incoming call or making an emergency call. This phone does exactly that. My butt will no longer be dialing my friends on its own.<br /><br />1a. The phone has pattern locking for a security feature so I can draw a pattern on the touch screen to unlock the phone instead of trying to enter a password (that I would mistype 20 times). The pattern locking is a simple connect the dots app on the touch screen so it is rather simple to use.<br /><br />2. When the phone locks the touch screen turns off. Again a simple feature (one that other might not like) but I need to press the on\off switch to re-enable the touch screen thus turning the touch pad on\off will happen when I want it to not when my arm brushes up against the screen while I am walking. <br /><br />3. Network switching between Verizon and pre-setup routers is automatic. <br /><br />4. Threaded text messaging. If you are a heavy user of text messaging then I think you will love this feature as I do... This feature will make it *A LOT* easier to keep multiple texting conversations going at the same time... For me the real test for this will be tomorrow (Sunday) as I will get 100s of text emails regarding NFL and NHL stats while watching the games and texting 4 or 5 of my friends about how how our fantasy teams are doing and what we think of various plays or referee calls.<br /><br />5. Speed.... So far the phones is fast... real fast to me... of course as I add more apps that might change<br /><br />6 Memory... The phone comes standard with 16GB<br /><br />7. Voice recognition searching... This is a cool feature... Simply talking to the phone to do a search of the phone for a contact or a Google search is cool so far.<br /><br /><br />Dislike<br />1. So far I am not real fond of the physical Keyboard (KB). The KB is flat with little distinction where one key stops and the next starts. I like to be able to feel the keys and that is making it difficult for me to get used to the phone. The touch screen keyboard is like any other touch screen keyboard and I make too many mistakes with that as well. Also adding to these bad vibes about the keyboard is how far it slides out from the phone. When the KB slides out the top of the keys for the top row of the KB is right up against the top section of the phone and I keep hitting the top section of the phone with the fingers as I type.<br /><br />2. It requires a GMail account before you can do anything. In the store I could not even get my contacts transferred until I had a GMail account.. Of course I have one but never type or remember the password so I had to make a new one in the store to get my contacts transferred from my old phone and now I can't figure out how to switch it back to my old account... Editing the user name does not appear to be an option so I added the old one as a 2nd account, however, based on the message provided by the phone I am afraid if I just delete the new account it will delete all of my contacts transferred from the old phone... that would be a major *FAIL* so I am not even going to *test* that feature. I guess the moral of this story is be ready with your GMail account name & password when you go to the store to get this phone.<br /><br />3. Outside of browsing I am having a bit of trouble figuring out how to have multiple apps running all at same time but i think this is more me than the phone and I need to do a little bit of RTFM on this one.<br /><br /><br />Well that is all for now... I will write more as I progress with the phone.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-37006735217343473102009-06-12T12:03:00.000-07:002009-06-12T12:04:33.960-07:00If the Penguins win…Throughout the Stanley cup finals I have had a quiet the dilemma. I have a particular dislike for the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey club (in my mind it is part of being such a big Buffalo Sabres fan) but I stand to win 3 cases of beer if they can defeat the Detroit Red Wings in game 7 tonight and win Lord Stanley’s cup, preventing it from staying in Detroit for another year.<br /><br />If I had known it would come down to theses two teams once again I would not have made the bet because it would have meant routing for Pittsburgh to win (and that has been difficult for me). Heck, a few months ago I was hoping Pitt would not even make the playoffs let alone the finals. On top of that, the actual bet was that the Detroit Red Wings would not win the cup (so basically I had every NHL team vs the Red Wings) which meant real good odds (back then).<br /><br />The truth is I can not in good conscience accept winnings from a bet where the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley cup… It just goes against everything I find to be good in the hockey world… So in an attempt to please the Hockey gods I have come up with the following sacrifice should the Pittsburgh Penguins win the cup.<br /><br />All of my winnings are to be donated to the Feltman’s Hog Roast this summer with the condition that Marc Lyon gets the first beer from each case (for supporting me). This will allow the winnings to be enjoyed by all.<br /> <br />Of course if Detroit wins I have to pay the 3 cases (which might be empty cases by the time I drown my sorrows on the way to the Hog Roast)Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-60771526744624914512009-05-13T20:46:00.000-07:002009-05-13T20:50:21.944-07:00First Dance SongLori and I are having trouble deciding on a first dance song. We both would like to select a song that has meaning to both of us as well as a song we would both listen to more than just on our wedding night. The most difficult part of this is we each prefer a different style of music, I am more of a Classic Rock/Hard Rock/Alternative Rock person while Lori is more into Pop and R&B music but does venture into a very wide variety of music including Rock.<br /><br />The songs listed below are songs that one or the other of us have brought to the table but absolutely nothing has been decided (nor will I post what we decide until after the wedding, sorry). To tell the truth just about any song is on the table (except those in the 2nd list), we have not even narrowed it down to the songs in the first list but we would be interested in any comments or suggestions you may have. One small request if you do comment on a song listed below please take a moment to listen to the version we linked to as I am sure at least one of them will surprise you (I have not included a link to the Bette Midler song as we could not find a good recording of it).<br /><br /><br />Being Considered<br />Goo Goo Dolls - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHd09ezbU1Q">Iris</a><br />Celine Dion – <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXBkfwj2cy8">Have you ever been in love</a><br />Goo Goo Dolls - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHeM-QE3PCE">Better Days</a><br />Metallica (S&M) – <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erPnyi90cIc">Nothing Else Matters</a><br />Whitney Houston – <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcycdlC6ekc">If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful</a><br />Whitney Houston – <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUGJtA45sDo">I believe in you and me</a><br />Grease - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyUWkQj0Q_U">You’re the one that I want</a> (God help me, LOL)<br />Bette Midler – Night and Day<br /><br /><br /><br />Songs ruled out<br />FireHouse - Love of a Lifetime <br />Alison Krauss - When You Say Nothing at All<br />Bryan Adams – Everything I do<br />Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A ThingMichael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-61097838204455325052009-05-05T20:46:00.000-07:002009-05-05T20:47:05.982-07:00Marriage counseling Session 7 – Getting a DivorceThe Actual title is “The Cold facts of the divorce decision” I just wanted to make sure I got your attention. <br /><br />The session started out with us discussing how we felt about divorce and God’s view of divorce. Lori and I both feel that divorce is not a solution to most problems which in most cases can and should be worked out with a lot of hard work and faith. We covered the few topics that we as well as God believe are acceptable reason for divorce (infidelities, abuse and abandonment). We also discussed that one of the reasons we waited 9 years to get married was so we could really get to know each other and who it is we are making this big commitment to. The rest of the session focused on divorces and the consequences there of. The consequences covered the cost emotionally, financially and spiritually as well as the effects on the health of the individuals involved and the affects a divorce would have on our kids (which are planning on having).Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-47757195801350194402009-05-03T20:20:00.000-07:002009-05-03T20:27:55.177-07:00Week one of exercise is completed.So I spent 4 nights this week at the gym (3 nights Lori joined me) and walked at lunch on 2 days. By my calculations I walked approx 10 miles this week, rode the bike for a few miles, and the elliptical for a few miles not to mention the extra time I spent with Lori. In total I was moving for approx 5 hours this week and to quote a twitter friend (as best as I can remember) “as long as I am moving, I am moving in the right direction”. Next week my goal is seven hours or 1 hour a day. I figure as long as I am eating healthier and moving more only time stands in my way… Oh and since Dec 23 (the day I stopped drinking Pepsi) I have lost approx 15 pounds. <br /><br />Skinny here I come!!!Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-38633791215954814482009-05-03T20:18:00.000-07:002009-05-03T20:20:18.243-07:00Brian and Joey G bowling leagueThis was my 14th year bowling in the Brian and Joey G bowling league and as it comes to an end I have informed my friends that I will not be joining the league next year. I have decided instead of bowling next year I will use the time and money for my wedding. Many of my friends currently bowl or have bowled in this league including the best man in my wedding and 2 of the ushers, I will miss spending this time with them. Sometimes when I think of not bowling next year it makes me sad as I will really miss all of this “guy time” but when it comes right down to it making the decision to concentrate on the wedding is a rather simple one. I would like to wish everyone in the league good luck next year and forewarn them of my pending return for the 2010-2011 season (if not sooner i.e. after x-mas).Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-16896898990809136722009-04-26T17:58:00.000-07:002009-04-26T18:00:55.220-07:00My BloggingAs usual I got behind on my blogging but I got the itch today and have gotten all caught up. Mostly because my mother is using the internet more and more and she has started reading it. Strange how motivating a mother can be <VBG>.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-2200629797401892122009-04-26T17:57:00.002-07:002009-04-26T18:04:46.874-07:00Patch Adams PoemBelow is a poem that I first heard recited by Robin Williams in the movie Patch Adams. <br />It makes me think of Lori and my love her as sometimes she tells me I am not good at being affectionate.<br /><br />Sonnet 17<br />by Pablo Neruda<br />I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz<br />or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.<br /><br />I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,<br />in secret, between shadow and the soul.<br /><br />I love you as the plant that never blooms<br />but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;<br />thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,<br />risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.<br /><br />I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,<br />I love you simply, without problems or pride:<br />I love you in this way<br />because I don't know any other way of loving<br />but this, in which there is no I nor you,<br />so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,<br />so intimate that when I fall asleep<br />it is your eyes that close.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-39991639677074209612009-04-26T17:57:00.001-07:002009-04-26T17:57:24.105-07:00Tux fitting and Dress selection day.Today everything went well. All of the girls found dresses and most of the men have been fitted for tuxedos. There are a couple stragglers who have not been fitted for tuxedos yet but I have spoken to each of them and I am very confident they will get this completed in time.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-33578774114692142712009-04-21T17:56:00.000-07:002009-04-26T17:56:56.568-07:00Marriage counseling Session 5 Avoiding the Money Battles & Session 6 Expectations versus real lifeAfter reviewing our combined list of “Fight rules” we completed 2 sessions in the meeting today. The sessions were #5 Avoiding the Money Battles and # 6 Expectations versus real life. <br /><br />For session # 5 we discussed money as a common area that causes marriage conflicts and ways to avoid that happening to us (when we can’t avoid the conflicts we are to see session 4 “Fight Rules” <VBG>. We talked about the best person equipped to handle the money should be the one selected to handle it but also how the other partner should be kept in the loop on this as well. We discussed setting a budget together as well as giving ourselves individual money to do things with as well.<br /><br />Session # 6 was about Expectations versus Real Life. During this session we discussed how often times expectations can so often be very different from real life and how it is important to make each other aware of what we expect as well as be aware of what the other expects. Often times in life it is possible for us to think we are meeting the expectation of our spouse when in reality we are so far from that. This led into Lori and I discussing what we expect from the marriage and from each other.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-33207731666152426982009-04-19T17:56:00.000-07:002009-04-26T17:56:16.925-07:00Lori gets her dressLori, her mother, her sister, Dee and Barbara went shopping and found Lori’s wedding Dress. She came home so happy to find a dress she likes and fits here nice. I am so excited for her and can’t wait to see her wear it on our special day. I get 6 months of Christmas anticipation and since Lori will not tell me who’s house she will stash it at I have no way of even snooping, even if I wanted to which I do not since it is said to be bad luck.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-40481633662942633692009-04-14T17:54:00.000-07:002009-04-26T17:55:12.626-07:00The Bill’s schedule is out.Today the NFL schedule came out and for the first time in my life I did not go right to the Cowboy’s schedule to see who they played. This time I went right to the Buffalo Bill’s schedule to see where they played on Oct 25. Some are wondering why I (a life long Cowboys fan) would be interested in where the Buffalo Bills play the day after our wedding but the reasoning is simple. Ralph Wilson Stadium (home of the Bills) is about a mile from our reception hall and the attached hotel gets quite busy during home games. It turns out that both God and the NFL are smiling on our wedding as the Bills play a road game in Carolina that weekend so there is not conflict for the hotel rooms.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-2267350854980475942009-03-31T17:53:00.000-07:002009-04-26T17:54:39.397-07:00Marriage counseling Session 4 – Resolving the inevitable conflictsAfter review our individual goals and then being given the task of combining our lists into 1 single list we moved onto the next session, resolving the inevitable conflicts. During this session we discussed some common problem areas in Marriages, ways to avoid some of the problems and most importantly ways to solve conflicts when we have them. After finishing that session we discussed our “Fight Rules” and were given the task of combining them into a single list in preparation for Session # 5.<br /><br />We discussed the following four principles of conflict resolution<br />1. Listen!<br />2. Think “Solution”<br />3. Speak the truth<br />4. Use the best powers of your tongue; remember your mate is not the enemy<br /><br />We were given the task of coming up with a list of “Fight rules” that we would like to follow as homework. We did accomplish this task but for now I am not going to post these items here <VBG>.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-525684911617850242009-03-21T14:49:00.000-07:002009-03-21T14:50:51.336-07:00Dress Selection and Tuxedo FittingLori and I have scheduled the dress selection for the maid of honor and bridesmaids as well as the Tuxedo fitting for myself, the best man, the groomsmen and our fathers for Sunday, April 26th at 2:00.<br /><br /><ul><li>If you can’t attend these events you can schedule an appointment on your own. </li><li>If you are scheduling your own appointment please contact us for they appropriate information.</li><li>If you schedule your own Tuxedo fitting we ask that it be completed before May 1st.</li></ul>Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-13015509553852593032009-03-21T13:17:00.001-07:002009-03-21T14:18:17.858-07:00ALL THOSE “EVEN THOUGHS”I just thought I would share one of our favorite poems.<br /><br />It is from a book titled "For My Darling" by George E. Young.<br /><br />When Lori and I first started to date I would travel 1-2 weekends a month for work. On one of my many travels I was looking for a gift to get Lori. At the time our relationship was still fairly young as we had known each other for less than a year. I was not sure what to get her but I did know that I wanted to impress her and that she liked poetry. So I found myself looking through some poetry books with little to no idea of what I was looking for. About the 10th book I picked up open right up to this poem (on page 8). As I read the poem it was clear to me that this was the gift for Lori. Anybody who knows us personally will know that this poem speaks volumes about our relationship. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">ALL THOSE “EVEN THOUGHS”</span><br /><br />Even though you do it this way <br />And I would do it like that.<br />Even though you swear it’s round<br />When I know durn well it’s flat.<br /><br />Even though you enjoy some thing<br />That seem a bore to me<br />Even though your logic, my dear,<br />I often fail to see.<br /><br />Even though some thing you do<br />I don’t understand at all.<br />And even though a few things seem<br />To drive me up the wall.<br /><br />You are you and I love you.<br />In fact, I do suppose,<br />Among the things I love the most<br />Are all those even thoughs.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-28711516701990915342009-03-16T19:36:00.001-07:002009-03-16T19:36:19.803-07:00WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNERAlthough I have never heard this phrase on any of my four trips to Las Vegas, it is a common story that when someone does well (which would explain why I have never heard it) an employee of the casino will shout out “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner“. Well today I get to use the phrase for something much different and far more important.<br /><br />Yesterday Lori and I spent the day as volunteers at a basket auction to benefit two children who lost their parents to a tragedy just before Christmas. The auction was put together by my good friends Kelly and Tommy and their small army of volunteers (family, friends, and a Girl Scout troupe or two). Please understand that this blog post is from my point of view and I by no means intend to overshadow the amount of work done by Tommy and Kelly. What they did in putting this auction together was simply AWESOME. The share numbers that you will see below should indicated the amount of work they put into this event. I urge them to comment on this post and would be happy to post another blog written from their point of view is they wish.<br /><br />Lori and I showed up at the basket auction at approx 10:30 and left around 7:30. While we were there our main focus was to run the 50/50 raffle tickets. What we saw throughout the day was a sheer testament of the human heart.<br /><br />By the time Lori and I arrived (we would have been earlier but it took us about an hour to drive there) the volunteers had already set up a basket auction of 370 plus donated baskets, a side raffle of almost 30 high end donations, a 20 items silent auction, and a treasure chest valued at almost $1500. When Lori and I arrived we bought our share of tickets and distributed them in the baskets we wanted to win (of which we won exactly zero). We then took our spot and proceeded to sell 50/50 tickets. Throughout the day people would come, some would stay, some would leave but everyone would contribute. The room designed to hold 250 people was packed full from an early opening to a late finish. At one point I am sure we had enough bodies in the room to officially qualify for a world record of people to space ratio.<br /><br />Lori and I along with two other totally awesome and dedicated volunteers sold over 4 rolls of 50/50 tickets. After each of the first two rolls and again after the final two rolls were sold we picked a winner. The winner would receive 50% of the money while the remaining funds went to the benefit. The winner of the first raffle split over $560, the second winner split $840, the third winner split almost $750. All in total the benefit got over almost $1100 from their share of that money but… It did not end there... the 2nd winner donated $200 of her winnings back to the benefit and the 3rd winner donated $180 of her winnings back to the benefit. All said and done the fund for the children made over $1450 from 50/50 raffle sales alone.<br /><br />Meanwhile these acts of human kindness where happening throughout the room. My best friend Mark and I had donated Sabres tickets to the silent auctions. The tickets (valued at just over $100) which could have been purchased at the box office or on E-bay for approx $100, sold for almost $150. Tickets for a chance to win ½ of a Pig were selling better than the 50/50 tickets all day, more than 4000 sheets of basket auction tickets were sold, a clown and some magicians (also volunteers) showed up to entertain the children, a polish dancing group performed for the crowd and two high school boys brought their equipment to provided DJ services for the day. <br /><br />Lori and I got to watch the town of Alden (and all of their friends, family and neighbors) pull together to help provide for two if it’s children.<br /><br />Around 4:00 they started selecting winners of each basket… 3 hours later they had finished the baskets, the large raffle item winners had been selected, the silent auction was closed and winners notified, the winning treasure chest key had been selected and the chest opened and the final action of selecting door prize winners had begun. It had been a long day, we had not eaten much to this point, and we still had approx an hour drive home so we said our goodbyes to our friends and headed out the door for dinner and a ride home. On our ride home we discussed our day (something we are getting better at as we attend our marriage counseling sessions in preparation for our wedding). We talked about the new friends we made. We talked about how we left with no baskets, no door prizes, and almost empty wallets . Most importantly we discussed how we also felt like two of the biggest winners in the building as you see we both LOVE to help others and find great pride in doing so.<br /><br />BUT…<br /><br />Although both Lori and I feel like winners that is not where the title of this blog comes from... the title is much more important than us…. You see on Monday I got a message from Kelly telling me the auction raised over $27,000 for the children and the grand total raised between this event and the snowmobile run that I have previously blogged about is over $32,000. This money is to be placed in a trust fund for these children. The money will be used to provide for the children as they grow and help insure that they get an opportunity to go to college if they desire and they can as close to a normal childhood as possible. Due to the GREAT job by Kelly, Tommy and all the volunteers this event was a total SUCCESS.<br /><br />So again I say…<br /><br />WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-36573434796344896782009-03-07T20:00:00.000-08:002009-03-08T20:03:08.707-07:00Honeymoon destination selectedLori and I have selected a destination (of sorts) for our honeymoon. We will be taking a 10 day cruise to the southern Caribbean. Our stops will include Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, St Thomas and the Bahamas. We have booked an Oceanview Double with balcony on the Ruby Princess with Princess Cruises. The balcony was very important to us as we are hoping to get an opportunity to see dolphins or whales but at the very least just see the water go by. Neither of us have been on an extended cruise (1 day at most) and the trip is scheduled for the very end of Hurricane season in the Caribbean so this should be a fun adventure. I have been to one of the destinations (Bahamas) and Lori has not been to any of these destinations so we are sure to be busy at each stop with lots of time for "rest" in-between.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-47866619851364916122009-03-06T19:57:00.000-08:002009-03-08T20:00:07.816-07:00Future Mother-in-Law has SurgeryAs we mentioned On Feb 24th Lori’s mother needed to have surgery to place a coil in an aneurysm which will prevent the blood flow to it while still allowing the blood to flow through her artery to her brain. I am happy to announce that everything went well with the surgery and my future Mother-in-law is resting at home. She had us nervous for a bit as the surgery was done in two parts to avoid medical complications but everything went without a hitch. Having her healthy and with us as we make the decisions about the wedding sure does take a lot of pressure off of Lori and I. The biggest problem now is that Lori, her mother, and my mother usually agree about everything and since they out number me 3-1 many of my wedding ideas are out. Those ideas that have been rejected include but are not limited to shorts and Hawaiian shirts for the bridal party, dancing girls at the reception, and 50/50 tickets at the door.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-12427578112592387832009-03-01T16:46:00.000-08:002009-04-26T17:53:12.347-07:00I have decided to change shapeThis blog post has come a bit late as I forgot to post it. So here it is as I wrote it over a month ago.<br /><br />This last year has been a year of changes for me. In the fall I lost my feline friend Max to cancer, Nov. 29th my longtime girlfriend Lori agreed to marry me, Dec. 23rd I gave up my dependency on Pepsi (yes 80-120 oz a day is a dependency) and now as the Ides of March approaches it is time to make the biggest and most challenging change… I have decided to change shape.<br /><br />Although the Ides is thought by some to be the day of the full moon I am not a lycanthrope or some other sort of mythical shape changing creature (although I know some people who tell some really good myths about me). For the last few years when people have talked about being in shape I would always respond… I am in shape, round is a shape!<br /><br />Now it is time for that to change.<br /><br />This is an adventure I have started numerous times in the past and always seem to go off course. I have tried over and over again so I am hoping that blogging about it as I go will help me stay honest with myself. This is not something that is going to happen overnight but it is something I want it to happen, I need it to happen, and it is something that must happen. My body can no longer handle carrying a quarter keg around with me every where I go. The extra weight has stressed my body in many ways. I have back problems, I have bad knees, I can't run very far, I run out of breath while hiking in the woods and it is time to make sure I get to see my unborn children grow up and have children of their own.<br /><br />At this point I am not soliciting solutions but rather making an open attempt to become active in two areas that play a big part in determining my shape. First and foremost I must exercise more, second I need to become more aware of how much I consume.<br /><br />There is just no way around the first item on my list. When the extent of my exercise on some days is going downstairs to the fridge and then back up the stairs to my desk I would consider that a FAIL on this topic I must do more. Using 12oz curls as an exercise… FAIL!! I have no one to blame for this situation but myself. No one can exercise for me I MUST do this myself.<br /><br />Number two on my list is portion size. Since I really really enjoy eating food I am not going to make a promise to myself that I can't keep. I am not going to "give up" those certain foods that are the biggest contributor to my shape (pizza, steak, fries, ect) because I like them so much I just can't do it (been there, tried that, FAILED). This time I am only going to promise to better manage the portions of those foods that I do eat (and I am hoping Lori will help me with this). Ordering large portions must stop. I have a mental weakness that seems to prevent me from leaving uneaten portions on the table so the cure for this is to order less. Eating till I am full may be satisfying but must also stop. <br /><br /> <br />Now an update on this blog… I am down almost 10 lbs.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-44381073618452872982009-02-28T19:56:00.000-08:002009-03-08T19:57:33.784-07:00We have selected the Tuxedo’s for the Bridal partyLast weekend Lori and I decided on Tuxedo Junction as our source for the tuxedo’s to be worn at the wedding. After visiting the store and working with the wonderful Mellissa O’Dell we went with traditional tuxedos with an Apple Vest (to match the Bridesmaid’s dresses. I will be in tails as well as my father and Lori’s brother (who will give Lori away). Sometime in March or April we will organize a date when most of the groomsmen can meet us at the store to get fitted, Those who can not make it or live far enough away where this would be inconvenient can be fitted at a store near them and should be sure to get fitted by May 1st.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-82419164539895637712009-02-28T19:54:00.000-08:002009-03-08T19:56:10.076-07:00The Wedding band Saga - Conclusion.Lori and I got the call for the store and picked up my wedding band. We were happy to find that it fits and even looks nice on my finger. It has been placed in the safety deposit box and awaits its next appearance Oct 24th.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623603271715032177.post-63643553972006007772009-02-26T19:39:00.000-08:002009-02-26T19:41:19.605-08:00Happy and Sad at the same time?Over the last few months Lori and I have had wonderful things happen to us as well as terrible things. For the last few weeks we just keep asking ourselves what could be next… Up or Down? The answer… Both<br /><br />We found out that Josh a real real good friend of ours (and one of the ushers in our wedding) has been offered and accepted a job in Chicago Illinois. Josh starts his new job in a few weeks and his family will be following him to Chicago over the summer. Not to worry there are no plans to replace Josh in the wedding as he still plans on attending.<br /><br />Lori and I are extremely excited for Josh, Kath, and Kaelyn. Opportunities like this don’t come all the time and are even harder to come by in this economy. We certainly wish them all the best and want them to know we will always be here for them. We also want them to know that we now have a reason to visit Chicago so if we show up on the door step one day don’t hide behind the furniture and pretend you are not home, please answer the door.<br /><br />On the other side of the coin (and a little bit selfish) it is always sad when good friends move away. So at the same time we are so happy for them we are very sad. It will make board game nights, camping trips, and time we spend together just little bit further apart.Michael L Roofhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10228847158840643490noreply@blogger.com3