This and That

Jade

2009-03-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

So it has been a couple of weeks since I've blogged due to all of the activity at work and home.

At work, the current executive staff has all been let go and a new company strategy is being put together for us to follow. I've been given the task to help define the direction of the company. There are two major factions on what we should do which makes it very interesting.

On the home front my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 10 days before her 2nd birthday. At times I still think I'm going to wake up and and all of this would be just a bad dream. Unfortunately I don't think this is going to happen :-(.. Jade handles everything very well, even when I go into her room in the middle of the night and turn on the hall light she sticks out a finger for me to stick for the blood test. She does not exactly care for the shots but she is getting more used to it.

The diagnosis was very interesting because we caught it so early. I think that her blood sugar was out of control for about 3 to 4 days and noticed some of the signs. So being diabetic myself I decided to do a blood test on her and sure enough her blood glucose was over 600. My initial thought was this must be a mistake. I did it again in a different place (a toe this time) and sure enough it was over 600 again. We called the doctor immediately and decided to go to the hospital. We really did catch this early compared to most diabetics. She only had trace keyatones and was still generally happy. The hospital did not even believe this, they almost wanted to send us home. She did not fit the profile from a wellness standpoint nor from an age standpoint (Apparently most children who are diagnosed with Diabetes are either at birth or from the ages of 8-13).

It really sucks that she has this and we are having to adjust but we are up to getting her in as best control as we can. We have a doctor appointment on Thursday but the doctor is very pleased with the progress we have made without much help from the doctor.

So where to now??? We are hoping for a cure more than ever now. Our short term plan is to get her one of those insulin pods as soon as humanly possible to help with the shots and to keep our fingers crossed for a cure.

One of my fondest memories of Jade

2009-02-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

The picture below actually contains two of my favorite memories of Jade (or possibly two of my favorite things she does). First when the camera comes out she always strikes a pose. If she even sees the camera she wants us to take a picture. The second thing in this picture is her blanket "JuJu", Carolyn has written about Jade's "JuJu" over on her Blog... Every morning when I'm driving her to school she always asks about "JuJu" like she is asking if she can take it. It's really funny when I go to wash it and tell her that it needs a "bath" she gets all excited and then sad that she cannot have if for an hour or so. Lately I've had to sneak it into the wash or wash it by hand then place it in the dryer.

My Favorite Charities

2009-02-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of some of the Charities that Carolyn and I have worked with / donated to. There is a website called "Network for Good" that has information on all of these charities. I've placed a link from this site for their donation page. You can get all of the charity financial information from links on that page.

1) Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

2) Cystic Fibrosis Services of North Texas

3) SPCA of Texas

4) American Diabetes Association

5) Habitat for Horses

6) North Texas German Shepherd Club

Favorite TV Shows...

2009-02-06T22:02:00.001-08:00

Since I got such a nice note from my wife tonight I think I'll shock her and post for a 4th time in 3 days... I think it's pretty funny to take a point in time and list all of the TV programs that you watch then look again within 5 years and see the number that are no longer there or that you still watch. Here are my favorite 10 shows right now (not in any particular order).

1. Lost
2. Chuck
3. Law and Order SVU
4. How I Met Your Mother
5. Big Bang Theory
6. Cold Case
7. Gary Unmarried
8. Criminal Minds
9. Chelsea Lately
10. American Idol

One of my fondest memories of Branson

2009-02-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

My fondest memory of Branson is when he was about 4 years old and he loved (like he still does) to be the center of attention. He used to dance around to songs just to get noticed. When we would laugh he would dance even more. We have some video of him doing this and it always makes me smile.

One of my fondest memories of Kyler

2009-02-05T19:34:00.000-08:00

Over the next couple of days I'm going to put some of my favorite memories from my kids. Tonight it's Kyler's turn....

One of my favorite memories of Kyler is last year when he started baseball. During practice he started out like most kids, he was a little scared of being hit by the ball when the pitcher threw it for him to hit. Also during practice he had issues really staying in the batter's box and giving it a good swing, hence it was very hard to make good contact with the ball.

Just before the game I told him that he needs to visualize staying in the batter's box and hitting the ball. He closed his eyes and said that was picturing it then.

Kyler was batting at the very bottom of the batting order and on his very first at bat in the game he got a base hit. He got the first hit and first run scored of the season for his team. He actually ran to second for a double. The best part was how excited he was. He was on cloud 9.

Every time he now mentions that he does not think he can do something I remind him of the visualization that he did on the hit and he always closes his eyes and says that he can now see it.

10 Things about me...

2009-02-04T20:24:00.000-08:00

Ok... So it's been like 6 months since I've posted. I was tagged by my wife to do a blog about 10 things about me. I kind of like this idea of people giving me blogging ideas. So if you want to post in the comments ideas to blog about I'll work the suggestions into blog postings. Enjoy.....

---------------- 10 Things about Paul ----------------

1. I like movies, especially ones with happy endings. I am not a big fan of tragedies.

2. I normally go for the underdog.

3. I always wished that I could sing better and play instruments.

4. I am the middle child of 5. I have three sisters and a brother.

5. My favorite car is the classic Mustang. I've owned several.

6. I was diagnosed with Diabetes when I was 11

7. I don't mind doing yard work. (Funny when you consider that I've not mowed our lawn for at least 8 years).

8. I would love to run for a public office. Go figure, at times I feel as if I could do a better job than most politicians.

9. I am left handed

10. My wife is my favorite person in the world. Some of the qualities that I admire in her (to prove my point) are: She's... intelligent, thought provoking, inspiring, sexy, funny, hot, cool, caring, supportive, loyal, consistent, persistent, persuasive, animal friendly, a supermodel, a rock star, adventurism, loving, and of course most of all, she puts up with me :-)

Anniversary

2008-08-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

11 years ago today we said "I do"....
And…
We Still Do!

It has been an amazing 11 years.
With smiles, tears, laughs, new lives, job changes, moves, basically…Growing up (Everything around us changes)!

We haven't always agreed.

But we have always been best friends!
Even more so today! This life... My Life, is precious to me….
We may not always get everything materially that we want, but we have an abundance of Love.
and money can't buy that! Thank you Carolyn, for being mine….
and giving me the best gift ever… You!

Dog and Pony Show

2008-08-01T00:47:00.000-07:00

So I was talking to my sister today about her division of her company being sold to a holding company and somehow we got on the topic of a "Dog and Pony Show", She asked why no cats and then proceeded to ask what does it mean and where did it come from.

So here it is, brought to you from wikipedia the origins of the phrase of "Dog and Pony Show"

Dog and pony show was a colloquial term used in the United States in the late-19th and early-20th centuries to refer to small traveling circuses that toured through small towns and rural areas. The name derives from the typical use of performing dogs and ponies as the main attractions of the events.

Performances were typically held in open-air arenas, such as race tracks or municipal parks, and in localities that were too small or remote to attract bigtop performances. In the latter part of the 20th century, the original meaning of the term has largely been lost. More recently, smaller areas of the mid-western United States have come to know the term as 'horse and pony show'. This term is not widely accepted in other areas of the country.

The term has come to mean any type of presentation or display that is somewhat pathetically contrived or overly intricate, or put on for purposes of gaining approval for a program, policy, etc. It is now often used in business to describe a period immediately prior to the initial public offering of a stock issue when the company's management travels extensively around the country to personally present their business to potential investors and thus attempt to create interest in purchasing shares of the IPO. In advertising the creative pitch is commonly referred to as the "Dog and Pony" show.

Something else to think about (A.K.A. Stupid thoughts)

2008-07-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

I collected most of these some time ago but a few are new.

If you say something is indescribable, isn't that describing it?
Do Dutch people always split the bill?
If you shine a light into a mirror, do you get twice as much light?
Why is it when we talk to God we are praying, but when God talks to us we are put into the loony bin?
If you were a pastor, and you were getting married, would you hire a pastor, or would you do the wedding yourself?
Why is Joey short for Joe, when Joey has more letters?
If a person suffered from amnesia and then was cured would they remember that they forgot?
If a singer sings their own song during a karaoke party, is it considered karaoke?
If conjoined twins participate in sports, do they count as one or two players?
How come French fries are not considered a vegetable, they are just deep fried potatoes?
Why do they say "an alarm going off," if it is really going on?
If you're sick for one week and on one of those days they had to cancel school because of snow, do you have to make up that day in June?
Why do companies offer you "free gifts?" Since when has a gift NOT been free?
You know the expression, "Don't quit your day job?" Well what do you say to people that work nights?
Why do you get in trouble for blocking an exit when you're standing in the doorway? In case of an emergency, wouldn't you run out, too, therefore NOT blocking the exit?
Why is it when some products you have to turn it upside down to read the directions, and the directions say do not turn upside down?
If a missing person sees their picture on a milk carton that offers a reward, would they get the money?
If overalls are held up by the snaps at the top, then why do they have belt loops?
Why do people say, "You can't have your cake and eat it too"? Why would someone get cake if they can't eat it?
If I had my legs amputated, would I have to change my height and weight on my driver's license?
How come you pay an extra 25 cents to get something put on your hamburger but they don't take off the price if you get something taken off?
If you die and you have a broken leg do they take the cast off?
Is sign language the same in languages other than English?
Do the security guards at airports have to go through airport security when they get to work?
If you went back in time and killed your mother would you disappear the moment you killed her?
If a bunch of cats jump on top of each other, is it still called a dog pile?
Can you cry under water?
Why is it when we laugh in school the teachers say do you find something funny? When obviously we do?
If the handicapped bathrooms are for people who cant walk why do they put them at the end of the bathrooms?
Why do most people put more effort into their wedding than their actual marriage?
Do stuttering people stutter when they're thinking to themselves?
How come you can kill a deer and put it on your wall but it's illegal to keep them as a pet?
Can someone give up lent for lent?
Why would Dodge make a car called Ram?
Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
If CD.s were spun in the opposite direction, would it say everything backwards?
Are children who use sign language allowed to talk with their mouth full?
If a criminal turns himself in shouldn't he get the reward money?
What would happen if: Everyone was to flush their toilet at the same time?
Do glow-in-the-dark objects stop glowing when somebody turns the lights on?
If you died on the International Dateline, and half of you were on 1 side and the other half on the other side, what day would you die?
If someone crashes his or her car on purpose, why is it still a car accident?
If people with one arm go to get their nails done, do they pay half price?
If the weather man says "it's a 50% chance of rain" does that mean he has no idea if its going to rain or not?
If you drink Pepsi at work in the Coke factory, will they fire you?
If Sunday is the holy day of rest why do we have to get up early for church?
When you snap your fingers, does the sound occur when your middle finger releases from your thumb, or when your middle finger hits the palm of your hand?
Can't anybody who has a job go in the "employees only" doors at restaurants? Shouldn.t they be more specific and say "employees of this place only"?
If two identical twin brothers married identical twin sisters, would there kids be identical?
Since you have to pull over when you see a funeral coming down the road...what would you do if there were a funeral coming down both sides?
Is it possible for a narcoleptic to have insomnia?
If no one buys a ticket to a movie, does the movie still play?
If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call?
If a fire truck was on its way to a fire and it passes another fire, which fire would it go to?
Do fish ever get thirsty?
If I think, and therefore I am, am I just a thought?
If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy?
Why does the label on children.s Tylenol tell you not to operate heavy machinery or vehicles when it's for CHILDREN!?
Do bald men wash their head with soap or shampoo?
Are one handed people offended when police tell them to put their hands up?
If you built a time machine with all new parts, when you went back would the parts you use disappear because they didn't exist then?
If all the nations in the world are in debt, where did all the money go?
What if you're in hell, and you're mad at someone, where do you tell them to go?
When sign makers go on strike, is anything written on their signs?
If your plan is having no plan, do you have a plan?
If the energizer bunny attacks someone, is he charged with battery?
If anything's possible, then is it possible that nothing's possible?
Do judges and lawyers do jury duty?
Do fish sleep?
If you are born on February 29 of a leap year, when is your birthday?
Do siamese twins pay for one ticket or two tickets when they go to movies and concerts?
What do you say when someone says you're in denial, but you're not?
If you had x-ray vision, but closed your eyes, could you still see?
Have you ever thought what life would be like if your name was Anonymous? You'd get credit for everything nobody wanted credit for?
If you have x-ray vision, and you can see through anything, wouldn't you see through everything and actually see nothing?
How do you throw away a garbage can?
If your're born at exactly midnight is your birthday on both those days?
Why do we say "bye bye" but not "hi hi"?
Can blind people be dyslexic when they read Braille?
How do you handcuff a one-armed man?
Why doesn't the glue in the bottle dry up?
If you decide that you're indecisive, which one are you?
If you tell someone they are being judgmental aren't you being judgmental yourself?
Can a hearse driver drive a corpse in the Car Pool lane?
If it's zero degrees outside today and it's supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold is it going to be?
Why do they put "for indoor or outdoor use only" on Christmas lights?
If an ambulance is on its way to save someone, and it runs someone over, does it stop to help them?
Why do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front?
Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp which no decent human being would eat?
Can you sentence a homeless man to house arrest?
Do the minutes on the movie boxes include the previews, credits, and special features, or just the movie itself?
Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but people don't point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?
If somebody vanished without a trace, how do people know they are missing?
What's the opposite of opposite?
If Practice makes perfect, and nobody's perfect, then why practice?
If you try to fail and succeed, what did you just do?
Why do hotdogs come in packs of 8 when hotdog rolls come in packs of 10?
Did they have antiques in the olden days?
Are zebras black with white stripes, or white with black stripes?
What came first, the fruit or the color orange?
Can blind people see their dreams?
If there's an exception to every rule, is there an exception to that rule?
If masochists like to torture themselves, wouldn't they do it best by not torturing themselves? and if so, aren't we all masochist?
Aren't you tired of people asking you rhetorical questions and you don't know if they are rhetorical questions or not?
Why do we leave expensive cars in the driveway, when we keep worthless junk in the garage?
Where in the nursery rhyme does it say humpty dumpty is an egg?
Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?
Why do banks leave the door wide open but the pens chained to the counter?
How come thaw and unthaw mean the same thing?
How can something be new and improved? if it's new, what was it improving on?
Why do grocery stores buy so many checkout line registers if they only keep 3 or 4 open?
If you lived in Siberia and you wronged the Russians government, where would they send you?
Aren't all generalizations false?
Can I get arrested for running into a Fire House yelling Movie! Movie!?
How come you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?
How do they get a deer to cross at that yellow road sign?
How do you know when you're out of invisible ink?
How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work in the mornings?
If 75% of all accidents happen within 5 miles of home, why not move 10 miles away?
If a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?
If a cat always lands on its feet, and buttered bread always lands butter side down, what would happen if you tied buttered bread on top of a cat?
If a chronic liar tells you he is a chronic liar do you believe him?
If nothing ever sticks to TEFLON, how do they make TEFLON stick to the pan?
If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too?
If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill herself, is it considered a hostage situation?
If superglue is so good, why doesn't it stick to the side of the tube?
If the cops arrest a mime, do they have to tell him he has the right to remain silent?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?
If you got into a taxi and he started driving backwards, would the driver end up owing you money?
If you play a blank tape at full volume and have a mime for a neighbor, will he complain?
If you spend your day doing nothing, how do you know when you're done?
Should crematoriums give discounts for burn victims?
What do sheep count when they can't sleep?
What do you do when you see an endangered animal that eats only endangered plants?
What hair color do they put on the driver's license of a bald man?
What happens when you call a 1-800 number collect?
What is another word for "thesaurus"?
What's another word for synonym?
When vultures are on their deathbed, are they ever tempted to eat themselves?
Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of the drive-up ATM?
Why do they report power outages on TV?
Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
You know how most packages say "Open here". What is the protocol if the package says, "Open somewhere else"?
You know that little indestructible black box that is used on planes, why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance?

Something to Think About

2008-07-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

I got this in an email several years ago and went back to find it. It was part of a chain mail (well sort of) but I think it had a real cool message.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for Best Actor and Actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series Winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remembers the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They're the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.

Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Now here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier, ain't it?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in our lives aren't the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They're the ones who care. So lets acknowledge them and appreciate what they do for us simply by letting them know that we too care.

Our Swimming Pool and Backyard

2008-07-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

We have everything any kid could ever want in a backyard. About a year and a half ago we decided to get a pool for our new house. These pictures are about a year ago just as we were putting water in the pool for the first time.


Also, I assembled this play fort just after we moved in. The kids don't play on it as much as I'd like but it is fun to push them on the swings.


We also fairly recently got a trampoline, but I don't have any pictures of this. I will try and take some within the next couple of days to post. There is a lot of places to explore beyond the trampoline. Here are some pictures of the backyard before any of the above improvements. These are the original pictures before we had the house, hence the tags at the top of the photos.

Cars That I Have Owned

2008-07-18T00:43:00.000-07:00

1965 Ford Mustang

This was my first and one of my most memorable cars

1982 Isuzu Pup with over sized tires

This is not the actual photo, Mine was red and the tires a little bigger.

1987 Honda Accord

This is also not the original photo, mine was a LXi with a sunroof.
This car was quite a workhorse. It had 140K on it when I purchased it.

1984 Ford Mustang Convertible (Predator)

This is not the picture of the car but is close. (Mine was a convertible).
This was a Solomon Predator version one of only about 20 that were ever made in a convertible. To bad I did not keep this one. I saw one go for 25K on ebay a few years ago.

1990 BMW 325i

Not the original photo, Mine had bigger tires in the back.

1992 Chrysler Le baron Convertible

This was my wife's car when we first got married. It was her first car.

1998 Honda Accord

We bought this car new and only had it about 6-8 months before we traded it in for the expedition (Kyler was just born).

1999 Ford Explorer Sport

We got this to replace the BMW due to the fact that it was falling apart. This was a fun truck.

2000 Ford Expedition

Our first family SUV. This vehicle did great with the family and towing.

2001 Ford Mustang GT Convertible

Had to have our sports car. We traded in the explorer for this.

1967 Ford Mustang GT Convertible

Ahhhh, love them mustangs. This car was fun to drive though the AC did not work so well.

2002 Cadillac Escalade

Another SUV, bought this new.

2006 BMW 325i

Replaced the mustang with this lightly used BMW.

2007 Infinity QX56

Replaced the Escalade with this SUV (we currently own)

2008 Ford F-150 FX2

Traded in the BMW got me a truck.

Today's After Work Project

2008-07-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

So I am really feeling the testosterone today, In a Tim Allen, Tool Time, Ruff Ruff kind of way. I had some branches on some large trees to trim out in the back yard and did not want to use a hand saw. So, I asked someone at work if I could borrow their chain saw.

Now, I've cleared out a bunch of the brush and trimmed the trees several times. I've always used a hand saw and several hours and two sore arms later was able to barely make a dent in the trimming, so I would break the task out into days. Well today after work I got out the chain saw and completely finished a job that would have taken me roughly 2-3 days in about an hour. I even was able to seal the trunk of the tree where I removed limbs.

I'm thinking that I need to get a chain saw. Ruff, Ruff, Ruff (Or how ever Tim The Tool Taylor used to say it).

National Gas Prices

2008-07-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

I was looking online at a weather map today and stumbled upon a map of national gas prices by county. Pretty cool stuff. (Especially since I live in an area that is painted in green). It really is amazing that the middle of the country is the cheapest when you think of distribution of crude to refinery you would think it would be more expensive.

Click Here to view...

Oh yeah, and when you click in on the map you can go all the way down to the prices on actual gas stations in your area.

My Favorite Robert Ludlum Books

2008-07-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

My favorite writer of all time is Robert Ludlum, I've read all of his books at least once. Most I've read so many times that I remember almost every word of the book. I don't have much time to read books any more but really like his genre. The newer Bourne books are great so are the Covert One series books.

I've tried to order the books below from my favorite to least favorite. The books at the bottom are not necessarily bad books, just not my favorite.

The Gemini Contenders (1976)
The Chancellor Manuscript (1977)
Trevayne (1973, writing under the pen-name Jonathan Ryder)
The Bourne Identity (1980)
The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971)
The Prometheus Deception (2000)
The Matarese Circle (1979)
The Aquitaine Progression (1984)
The Icarus Agenda (1988)
The Scorpio Illusion (1993)
The Holcroft Covenant (1978)
The Rhinemann Exchange (1974)
The Matarese Countdown (1997)
The Matlock Paper (1973)
The Apocalypse Watch (1995)
The Parsifal Mosaic (1982)
The Road to Omaha (1992)
The Osterman Weekend (1972)
The Bourne Supremacy (1986)
The Cry of the Halidon (1974, writing under the pen-name Jonathan Ryder)
The Bourne Ultimatum (1990)
The Road to Gandolfo (1975, writing under the pen-name Michael Shephard)

Note: There are more books "credited" to Robert Ludlum or in his style but I have only listed the books that were published while he was alive. The others are good also but I am not 100% sure which were written by ghost writers and which were written by him.

Taking Charge

2008-07-13T07:59:00.000-07:00

When I was 12 years old I was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. This diagnosis of course changed the course of my life forever but it also changed my family life growing up as a kid (not always for the better). I was child number 3 of 5 in my family and I still think that to this day the "extra" attention that I got from my parents having Diabetes was somewhat resented by my other siblings. Not that I really enjoyed this kind of extra attention.

I think my parents did a good job with helping to "train" me to live with my Diabetes. But at the time the notion was that "sugar was bad" prevalent and that everything had to be in a routine same time day after day. As a youth this was the biggest bummer of all. My parents were leery of letting me go to sleep overs, birthday parties and even going on my first date. They were going off of all of the data that the doctors, social workers and nurses were giving to us but I felt very singled out by the "rules".

In fact we even as a family lost some flexibility, based on thoughts from the Diabetic "handbook" meals had to be at the same time everyday. So everyday at 5:00pm my mom would serve diner. Some of the diabetic recipes were good but some of the good 'ole favorites were left off the menu. I felt like this was all due to the in-flexibility of the disease. Very rigid.

On one hand people would say that I am a normal kid and can do everything that everyone else could do. On the other hand I had all of these "rules" applied to me which did not make me feel very normal. I did have a good childhood, don't get me wrong but many questions in my mind were unanswered. Possibly because I did not bring them up. If I was just like every other kid then why did I feel like I had a different set of rules applied to me?

About the time I left home to go to College, I learned one very important thing. I was able to do everything that was asked of me from the doctors but with a simple change of attitude I was able to take control. Latest education on control of Diabetes from doctors were that sugar was not necessarily as bad but you had to control it. I figured that if this worked with the disease it would work with me. I learned to not let the disease control me but to control the disease. As long as I was in control I did not feel trapped by the disease. So instead of forcing myself to eat at 5pm everyday I ate when my schedule allowed and worked my insulin schedule around eating instead of working my schedule around my insulin. I felt renewed, invigorated able to take my schedule into my own hands (so to speak). Funny thing is that once I took this new found attitude the control of my diabetes actually improved. My H1C values actually got better.

Once I figured out how well this works I started applying this to the rest of my life. Don't let your ???? control you, rather control your ????. Career, love life, situations, it was amazing how easy it was to "take control". Carolyn and I fully believe in this method. When our first child was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis we applied the same principals to his care. When initially in the hospital we wanted to know everything and asked the doctors all of the tough questions. We got answers and started making choices on how to better care for him. We tended to want to be a little more aggressive than the doctors were (and still are for that matter). I feel like this has really helped their quality of life.

Breathing Treatments

2008-07-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

For Cystic Fibrosis many techniques have been used to clear out the airways and lungs. One of the most effective methods to date has been CPT (Chest Physical Therapy). Patients used to have to have someone cup their hands and be repetitively "hit" or pounded by the cupped hand on the chest, back and sides. When we first started doing CPT, we used this method for both of our boys. They absolutely hated it. Specifically on the sides and where they specifically needed it. Not to mention the amount of time it took and how sore Carolyn and my hands and arms would get. After doing this method for about a year we finally talked our insurance company into getting one Hill-Rom Vest.

We were in heavin. This was such a great device. We started religiously doing two breathing treatments a day for 30 minutes. The only issue we had was that we just had one vest so we spent 2 hours a day on treatments. Still not a huge deal as Branson was not in school yet and the morning ritual was not that tough.

After learning that one of the initial ideas behind the vest was from a Dr. Warwick in the Minnesota clinic in Minneapolis. So we made the trip from Texas to Minneapolis. The trip was so worth it. He gave us some good ideas on individual treatment (more about this in future posts) and also suggested that we attempt to do our breathing treatments in a different manor. He stated that he had this theory that to loosen up all of the mucus in the lungs it made more sense to switch the frequency of the vest every couple of minutes and also have the boys cough between frequency switches. He gave us a complete schedule by which we should do the changes. He also stated that he is working with a new vest company to develop a "program" for the vest which will automatically vary the frequencies at time spaced intervals. We went home and were excited to try the new treatment. It really seamed to make a difference. We could tell that their coughing in the morning was way more productive and actually made them sputum free in the afternoons. We really liked this.

Our next thought was now... If we could only get the new vest he was working on. We got not one but two of the first versions of the RespirTech vest. (We had switched insurance companies) This worked even better. We absolutely loved our new vests. It automatically adjusts the frequency. We currently use the vests at 100% pressure and the boys tolerate it great. We also do two treatments a day unless we are doing tune-ups or unless they are ill with a cold or Flu then we will typically do 3 or 4 treatments daily.

The only issue with this vest is that the basic Quick Start program does not automatically pause the vest for the boys to cough but my wife and I are often going to the machine pausing the program and asking the boys to cough. It is amazing how easy the training on this is for them. When we stop the vest they automatically know that it's time to cough. RespirTech has been real receptive for feedback and we requested that they place a method by which the machine would automatically pause for 10 to 60 seconds so that the boys can cough. They stated that on future revisions of the product they will look at adding it in. We had such good luck with this vest that the doctors at our clinic actually started talking to the RespirTech representatives to get the vests for the clinic to use in the hospital.

One other things that we do while doing the vest is the nebs. We currently do Albuterol and Mucomyst mixed together and Hypertonic Saline solution. We find that for our boys the masks work better than the mouth pieces that so many people use. I find that it is easier for the kids to "cheat" with the mouth piece, not that they mean to, but they just suck on it and don't fully breath through it. The masks that we like to use are special order but the pari neb fits right into the mask, no special tubing is needed to connect the mask to the neb.

One thing that we have been talking about lately is the noise that all of this creates while doing the treatments. The boys typically watch TV while doing the treatments and with the vests on at 100% and the compressors working (two sets of each) it can get very noisy. They typically turn up the TV to almost max volume which adds even more noise. The problem is specifically bad when the treatment is over and the TV is blaring at max volume. The TV can actually hurt your ears. We have tried some other things to make the setup a little quieter like using a larger single compressor for the nebs but this proved to bulky to carry around and not as effective as the single nebs that they use. Carolyn had the brilliant idea to get some wireless headphones for them to use while doing the treatments. I have not had a chance to purchase the equipment but I think that this will work out great. I'll post when we get the system and give a review.

One other best practice thing that Carolyn thought of was to get a horse tack cart to place the vest machines and the nebs in along with all of the power cords and the actual vests and tubes. This works out great. After treatments we simply put the tubes all into the cart along with the wires and wheel it into a closet. Makes it real easy to keep the place clean. We even have Kyler trained to put it up and take it out. No one like to see this stuff sitting out all of the time specifically with two of them. The cart is fairly small and has a wheel system similar to a wheel barrow where you lean the cart and push or pull to move it. It is very sturdy and made out of light metal wide mesh. It actually looks quite nice.

My Wife's Blog

2008-07-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

Howdy all, I wanted to give a pointer to my wife's blog here. It was her initial idea to start blogging and she puts a lot more pictures on her blog as she is a shutterbug. Her blog is kylerbransonjade.blogspot.com she keeps her's updated daily and has great stories and content she is also a much better writer than I am.

Today's Update

2008-07-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful day and night today. We were quite busy but work was short due to a company party. So I got to leave work at around 1pm (One of the reasons the day was so good...) and we went to Main Event for the party. The boys always enjoy bowling and playing video games. They also played laser tag and miniature golf. Carolyn and I followed Jade around and I think she also had a good time. Even with skipping her nap (which she normally takes from 1-4 or so).

When we got home the boys played with Jade a little more and then we did their breathing treatments and antibiotics and went to go and see the movie "Meet Dave" with Eddie Murphy. When we got there we actually expected for the theater to be crowded but were surprised that on a Friday night it was empty 30 minutes before show time. I was a little fearful that it must be a terrible movie but was pleasantly surprised that it was not all that bad. The boys loved it and Eddie Murphy did a real good job with the "robot" parts. He is so believable. I have not always been the biggest Murphy fan though I have liked several of his movies. I heard a rummer that he was going to retire from acting. I guess he had done just about every type of comedy.

The boys really like music especially all of the Disney music. I have Radio Disney in my new truck on the satellite radio and the boys like to just sit in the truck to listen to the music on that channel and the Hits 1 station. I remember when I fell in love with listening to music as a kid and I hope it brings the same kind of memories when they get older.

Kids and Exercise

2008-07-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

It truly is amazing at the amount of energy that kids have. Since the beginning of the summer my wife has been on a health kick trying to workout and keep in shape. Kyler and Branson our children with CF both have been given incentives to try and run every night with their mom. The concept is this:

We have a course that they run in which 6 laps is roughly a mile. We let them run for 15 minutes and based on the number of laps they get some money.

If the boys get 6 laps they get $1.00
If the boys get 7 laps they get $1.50
If they get 8 laps they get $2.00
If they get 9 laps they get $3.00
If they get 10 laps they get $5.00

This is not really a whole lot of money but after a week of doing this (they do it 3-5 time a week) the money really starts to add up. They get to spend the money on stuff to do this summer like video games, vacation, additional clothes, additional shoes really just about anything they want.

The absolutely amazing thing is that lately after they run they beg to go out and ride their bikes. So now when we go running we also bring their bikes along and they will ride for an additional 45 minutes or so. (Little to they know that this is also exercise)...

Since running we have really started to notice a difference in the quality of their breathing and how much easier it is for them to do exercise. I remember about a year ago when Carolyn used to take them for walk over 20-30 minutes they used to get winded just walking, now they will run and play all afternoon and then go and do the run and it does not even phase them.

We have heard in plenty of places how much exercise really helps CF patients with increased heart and lung function. We hope that this pays off. On average both boys run roughly 1.5 miles in the 15 minutes which I think is pretty good. I will most days offer incentives or adders for hard work. If they get 10 laps I'll give in a little kicker. I will try to post some pictures of their running soon.

Well off for now. I've got another meeting to attend. This should be a fairly slow Friday due to a company party this afternoon at 1pm.

Paul's Software Development 101

2008-07-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have been an actual line manager for a Software Development organization but I have had several directors and managers who work for me now or have recently worked for me who always want to know what I think works as a software development process. I think that people make this task so difficult where it is really simply 10 steps that need to be done and refined. Each organization has different requirements when it comes to communication and development process but over the years I have found that this is what works best.

Requirements: In every scenario that I can think of you always need to start with a core set of requirements and then try to refine the requirements into enough detail to make sure you can describe the project and what will need to be accomplished.
Functional Specification: This is one of the most difficult things to explain to people how much detail needs to be specified in this document (or wiki which is what my current company uses). Here I like to see state flow and use cases to support the requirements. This is where we start to document the extremely high level flow of the project or program. Also external interfaces are described here and articulated. This document is typically used by QA and Documentation staffs to begin their jobs writing test cases and documentation.
High Level Design (HLD): This is the next layer of the onion. Start actual design work on how the program will be written. A lot more detail here. This document will actually break down the functional spec into tasks that will need to be performed to get the project completed. The developers also develop what dependencies are needed for each task at this time. The level of design work depends on the project, requirements and the "newness" of the code. For a brand new project the HLD will most likely look differently than a maintenance or new features on top of an existing project. Typically I like the programmers who are working on a given feature to work on the HLD for that feature.
Sizing: In my opinion this is the hardest item to have developers work on. A good manager lets his programmers come up with the time it will take to get all tasks that they are slated to work on and then ask questions on why they chose those times. Most managers who have worked for me in the past struggle with this but it should be done. Not all programmers are able to manage their times correctly. If this is done right it allows for a certain amount of buy in on the tasks and drives accountability down to the programmer. I've noticed that the more I work with a team of developers I learn who is optimistic and who is pessimistic and I arrange my questions for the different type of estimators.
Generate Schedule: Next is to get the overall schedule generated for the project. Take the tasks, dependencies, resources and times and map them out either in a product like MS project or even on a white board (which is sometimes easier the first time around).
Develop the code: This is what most developers want to start on first. Not always the best solution. All of the work above should be done first.
Integrate: Integration of tasks needs to be done. I prefer to have development handle the integration testing. The use cases from the Functional Spec should be used to perform these tests.
System Test Drops: When specific functionality is completed it should be packaged up and sent to a QA System Test group so that they can run their test plans against the completed code. Early on not all functions will be complete but a build report should be sent from development letting QA know what areas of the product are to be tested. I will typically have this all pre-built during the scheduling phase above so system test knows ahead of time what tests to set up for.
Fix bugs: There will always be bugs to fix. Dev should stick some time in the schedule to fix bugs after each drop to System Test. Typically this is a cyclical process so #'s 6, 7, 8 and 9 happen until all code is written and then a cycle of #'s 8 and 9 until the product is ready to release.
Release: Whoo Hoo, we are almost done. I will typically make sure at this point that all code has been properly documented along the way but I always go back at about this time and evaluate if there is any additional documentation we need to create for the project before tackling the next project.

So why bring all of this up??? My current teams seems to struggle with some of these aspects. Also the level of detail at each does vary based on requirements, size of development group and complexity of the project and people always seem to go do deep or not nearly deep enough. I actually am not a big fan of long drawn up processes but I know that in general if you follow these steps it makes development much faster and allows other support organizations get the data they need sooner (like Tech Pubs, System Test, Training, Customer Support, Sales, etc).

My Children

2008-07-10T18:48:00.001-07:00

I have three children ages 9, 6 and 17 months. Here is a little about each one of them.

Kyler (Age 9). Kyler is my oldest child and he is a loving and caring child (when he is not trying to antagonize his little brother). He has a will power when he sets his mind to something that amazes everyone. He is persistent and has a quality about detail that I admire. He was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when he was just a couple of weeks old though we suspected that he had it at three days old. He had a bowel obstruction at birth which is a indicator that he may have the disease. Kyler to date has mostly had intestinal issue with his CF and is very healthy. We used to call Kyler Pookey Bear when he was younger, while we no longer call him this he is still our little Pookey Bear.

Branson (Age 6). Branson is a very loving and cuddly child and has an aptitude for learning and is very competitive (Especially with his brother). Branson also has Cystic Fibrosis. He was diagnosed at a very young age (several weeks) due to his older brother. Where Kyler has more of the gut issues Branson has more lung complications. We try very hard to get him the best care we can to insure he is happy and healthy. Branson enjoys riding his bike as he just learned how to ride without training wheels. A couple of days ago he asked me to remove his training wheels because he wanted to lean so I took them off and he got on and started riding without any parental assistance. He can be very independent but also likes to be reassured of his accomplishments from others. Branson's nick name has always been little buddy, not sure when we started calling him this but he looks like he could be everyone's best buddy.

Jade (Age 17 Months). Jade our youngest is the cutest little girl I've ever seen. Now, I know you are saying that I am biased. Well I am but I still think it is true. She has a spark about her that is contagious. The twinkle in her eyes is so much fun to watch. She loves to explore and seems to pick stuff so fast. Possibly the constant attention she gets from her brothers and parents. At this time she calls everyone "Ma Ma", in fact it is almost like she loves to have people say "What" when she says it. It is funny when she does that to complete strangers. They say, oh no, I'm not your "Ma Ma" and then the proceeds to laugh and say it again. Pretty funny. She also likes to be the center of attention, just like her mother. We call Jade our little Twinkle Star 'cause that's what she is.

We have the best kids in the world. I don't know what I would do without them. They teach me just as much as I teach them. It is real fun to watch them explore and learn. I love them more than words can express.

So enough sappiness... Back to blogging.

Those 80's Slogans

2008-07-09T08:17:00.001-07:00

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head and just can't get it out? I do and today that song is a commercial jingle from Raisin Brand cereal. You know the one... "Two scoops of raisins in Kellogs Raisin Brand.... Two Scoops...". Anyway that got me to thinking. I remember when this commercial first made is out. So to try and clear my mind of this maddening song I decided to try and think of as many 80's slogans as I could. I am not sure how many of these are from the 80's but I sure do remember them as a kid.

So here goes:

"We do chicken right!"
"Mikey likes it"
"Where's the beef?" (One of my personal favorites... I used to have a shirt with this slogan)
"Kentucky Fried Chicken, it's finger licking good"
"I like the Sprite in you!"
"I'm a pepper, your a pepper, wouldn't you like to be a pepper too?"
"Want love? Get Close-Up" (Or something like that)
"Raise your hand if you're Sure"
"Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everyone did?"
"Reach out, reach out and touch someone"
"Show 'em you're a tiger" (Tony the Tiger)
"There Grrrrrreat!" (Another Tony the Tiger)
"Melts in your mouth, not in your hand..." (M&M's slogan)
"Plop Plop, fizz fizz, Oh what a relief it is" (Alka Seltzer)
"I wish I was an Oscar Meyer wiener"
"Snap, Cracle, Pop"
"How do you spell relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S"
"Good to the last drop... Maxwell House"
"Hefty! Hefty! Hefty!, Wimpy! Wimpy! Wimpy"
"My little Pony"
"La, La, Lalalala, La, la, la, lala" (Smurfs song, not really a slogan but it came to me)
"Light Bright", Don't really remember the words but the jingle sticks in my head.
"Avoid the Noid" (I think this was Dominos Pizza)
"Only you can prevent forrest fires"
"Gatorade is thirst-aid"
"How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?"
"I wanna be a Toys'r'us kid" (Ok now this one is stuck in my head)

Enough already... So let me see if I inflict the same pain in the readers of this blog...

I don't want to grow up,
I'm a Toys'r'us kid
'cause there's a million toys at Toys'r'us
that I can play with
From bikes to trains to video games
it's the biggest toy store there is (gee wiz)
I don't want to grow up,
'cause mabey if I did,
I would'nt be a Toys'r'us kid

The First Post

2008-07-08T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, So, after watching my wife blogging for the last several months; I figure what the heck, mabey I should give this a try, it sounds like fun...

I think that the first order of business should be to tell a little about myself:

Family:

I have a beautiful wife (of almost 11 years) and three children Kyler age 9, Branson age 6 and Jade age 1. My family is my life, I enjoy spending time with them and spoiling them rotten (which is easy to do). I am child three of five (yes, you got it... a middle child) and grew up in Dallas. We also have a dog and three cats.

Location:

We live just outside of Austin in Leander Texas. Leander is a great place to live. The area is growing up so fast. We live on a couple of acres overlooking the scenic hill country.

Career:

I am the Vice President of Business Management for a company who makes network security devices (Intrusion Prevention Systems). Early in my career I was a software developer and have worked several positions managing software development.

Hobbies / Interests:

Unfortunately I really don't have much time to devote to hobbies but given the time I like:

Cars
Computers
Coaching Soccer
History
Music
Playing Spades
Video

Landscaping
Woodworking
Reading Books
Water and Snow Skiing
Movies
Pool
Swimming

What I plan to Blog about:

The simple answer is "This and That" but more specifically my hope is to blog about life, work, children, toys, vacation, my hobbies, random thoughts, structured thoughts, ideas and my dreams. Stay tuned to find out.