A Day of Giving Thanks

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving. A friend of ours John had recommended a brand of turkey and it was fantastic! It is called Norbest. Try it, it was one of the meatiest turkeys I ever had (sorry vegetarians) . We dined on a meal of turkey, corn, sweet potato cassarole, mashed potatoes, green bean cassarole, sausage stuffing and bread stuffing. For dessert we had 3 kinds of pie - pumpkin, custard and pecan. We also had a chocolate cake.

What I'm Watching:
Kingdom of Heaven - Great movie about the Crusades

Turkey Day is Coming

I have had a cold the last week that has left me weak as a kitten. It's not like it's a really bad cold, I think it's the drugs I'm taking to combat it that are leaving me weak. Well, I can only hope I get rid of it before Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving is the Festival of Lights Parade in Historic Downtown Crystal Lake. I am one of two DJs for the Parade. My friend Joe Bellavia is the other. If you live in the area and have never seen the Parade I highly recommend it. We have somewhere around 50 units all lit by various type of lighting. There is music, baton twirling, calliope playing and more. It's all topped off with the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus and the lighting of the tree. Very cool! It you stop by, make sure you say hi. I'll be the DJ by the Clock Tower.

Live in Crystal Lake? How would you like to own the first Downtown Crystal Lake Christmas Ornament. Theses are a limited edition depicting the Downtown Train Station. You can place your order at Uncle Fat's Attic. The price is $20 and the proceeds go to fund downtown programs.

We went Friday night to a Skateboard competition at Warp Skate Park in Woodstock, IL. It was great fun watching the kids do all their tricks. A friend of ours has a line of skateboards - Wiseguy Skateboards. Some of the members of his team placed in the competition. Go to his website for photos.

What I'm Watching:
Shaun of the Dead - A comical takeoff of Dawn of The Dead. If you like zombie movies, this is a must see.



Land of the Dead - The latest in George Romero's "Dead" series. Excellent!




What I'm Listening To:
WNUA Sampler Vol. 18 - 2 discs - One is great smooth jazz and the other Christmas Jazz

How to Clean Anything

Tiny Goes For A Swim

I work from home and have 4 dogs. They have to be let out every few hours or accidents happen. Yesterday afternoon, I went downstairs and let them out. I waited a few minutes and three of them were done. I went outside and picked up the little one (she's too small to climb the 2 steps leading into the house). The fourth dog - Tiny Dancer who is 16 walked up to me and then decided she still had to go. She turned around and walked back out into the grass. I thought OK, I'll give her a few more minutes. I went back upstairs to check my email. The phone rang in the meantime and I answered it. I went back downstairs and open the patio door and yelled... TINY! No response. This is not unusual since she is somewhat deaf (unless you mention the word food or cookie). I proceeded over to the dining room window and looked out.. no tiny. I went to the family room window and looked out... no tiny! Where was she? I walked out into the yard and there she was... in the Koi pond swimming with fishes. I quickly ran over and pulled her out. I dried her off with two towels. The poor thing was shivering from the cold.

She is now ok.

Koi update!

The Koi that was pulled from the depths of the our pond is still alive. It's swimming on it's side, but eating. I hope it survives the winter.

Welcome To The Retro Future

Welcome To The Retro Future

I thought this was kind of fun. It seems the future wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

A List Showing the Sony-BMG Rootkit Infected CDs

I would think twice about buying any of the CDs. They infect your computer with XCP copy protection software.

My Poor Koi

I had an episode about 1 week ago, where I let my dogs out in the yard and went back upstairs to work. I work at home and my office is upstairs. After about 5 minutes or so I went downstairs to let the dogs back in and when I opened the patio door, here is my little dog Jazzy standing over a Koi almost as big as she is on the brick pavers. Now this is about 5 feet from my Koi pond. I quickly picked the fish up and placed him/her back in the water. I also noticed a puncture mark on the top of the fish. Right away, I blamed my dog Kirby. This is something Kirby would do. He is an obnoxious dog that will eat anything that looks and smells like food. Now I have changed my mind. I don't think Kirby grabbed this poor Koi from his home. Friends of ours John and Melissa pointed these facts out to me. Was Kirby wet around his head when I found the fish? No! Would Kirby be able to sit patiently at the edge of the pond and then quickly reach in and pull out a fish? No! I don't think Kirby has the patience. I think he has A.D.D. What possibly could have pulled that poor Koi from the water? I think maybe a hawk and either the dogs scared it away or the fish was too heavy for it to carry.

What are your thoughts folks? Any theories?



Here is a picture of Kirby to the left and Jazzy below.

Memory Game

This is a fun memory game.

One Hundred and Two Things About Me!

1. OK, A lot of blog writers are doing this, so I thought I would give it a shot!
2. My favorite movie is Dawn of the Dead (original version)
3. My second favorite movie is The Omega Man (are you sensing a theme here?)
4. My favorite fruit is cherries
5. Favorite vegetable is Asparagus
6. I hate spiders, although I do like snakes. But that aint what it takes...
7. I hate people who don't use their turn signals. Even for lane changes, it's not that much work people!
8. Favorite DJ of all time - Jonathan Brandmeir and he's coming back to the Loop! (97.9 in Chicago) - Yeah Baby!
9. Favorite TV show - Survivor or Lost
10. I love steak
11. I love buttered noodles
12. Pancakes and bacon are one of my favorite breakfasts
13. Egg Benedict is my second favorite breakfast
14. I drove a 1971 Maverick with flames on the hood during high school
15. I played bass with a Hard Rock band - Salem's Fire during the early 1980's
16. I played keyboards with a group in the 70's called Magus
17. I used to be a champion Foosball player in high school
18. In grammar school, I was in 3 talent shows as a ventriloquist
19. My favorite male vocalist is Dennis DeYoung
20. I love pizza
21. I'm a huge dog lover, any size, any shape, any kind!
22. I had always planned on becoming a professional musician or actor
23. I have worked for the same company for over 26 years
24. My first computer was an Atari 400 with 16K of memory and a membrane keyboard. Yes, ou read it right 16K, not 16MB. No hard drive, just a cassette tape drive
25. My wife's name is Char.
26. I have 2 brothers and a sister. I'm the baby.
27. I once played in the Illinois State Fair Organ competition
28. I played saxaphone in the Lane Tech H.S. Band.
29. My dog's names are Tiny Dancer (Keeshond), Kirby Monroe (Keeshond), Joey Dancer (Keeshond) and Jazzy Dancer (Miniture Poodle)
30. My poodle Jazzy was born with dwarfism
31. I love smooth Jazz
32. George Benson, Jeff Beck and Peter White are 3 of my favorite guitarist, oh yeah Eddie Van Halen too.
33. I love Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy
34. I love computers and technology, but think they will ruin the world some day. Listen to Mr Roberto by Styx and Harry's Hands by Dennis DeYoung.
35. Styx is my favorite band of all time. I have seen them perform over 20X.
36. My brother Tim has been in several movies, including "She's Having A Baby" and "Only the Lonely".
37. My father died when I was 10 years old.
38. I love the Cubs! (although I do also like the White Sox)
    My favorite Cub player of all time is a tie between Jose Cardinale and Ron Santo. Although I do like Carmine Fanzone and Joe Pepitone.
39. I have a Joe Pepitone 1st baseman's mitt.
40. I love popcorn!
41. I love building fires!
42. I like my coffee with cream and sugar
43. I like tea the same way.
44. I love building databases. I'm an information junkie!
45. I love playing Wallyball and try to play once a week.
46. I love riding my bike on a nice cool summers day.
47. I have a Koi pond with 5 Koi in my backyard.
48. I worked for White Castle for 4 years. Yes, I still eat there.
49. I co-owned and operated a wedding dj company for 13 years.
50. I try very hard not to use profanity in public. Now, in private... thats another matter. ;-)
51. I've always wanted to own a hot tub.
52. I love to eat broasted chicken!
53. I think I'm good at training people. Maybe I should have been a teacher.
54. I had a mustache for 25 years and I shaved it off 2 years ago. I know my profile photo Shows me with it on.
55. Steam rooms are fantastic!
56. I worked as an orderly in a hospital for one day.
57. I love Sushi and Japanese food.
58. I'm heavy into genealogy.
59. My name is Mark because I was born on St. Mark's Day. It's on Luthern calendars.
60. My 3rd favorite movie is the new version of Dawn of the Dead.
61. I love to practice the art of Tai Chi. Scott Cole is my favorite instructor.
62. I listen to New Age music and light Jazz while I work. I also have a fountain going and sometimes I burn incense. Wow, does that sound weird or what!
63. I drive a Saturn 4 door sedan.
64. My weight has ranged from 165 pounds to 206 pounds in the last 20 years. I now weigh 175 pounds.
65. I actually love my job and everyone I work with.
66. I love eggrolls!
67. I love Chinese, Indian, Thai and Italian food
68. My favorite authors are: Stephen King, James Rollins, Jeffrey Deaver, Patricia Cornwell, James Patterson, John Sanford and Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
69. I have read every Harry Potter book, except for the new one.
70. I am 5'11" tall.
71. I am a huge fan of the Andy Griffith Show
72. I collect memorabilia from the 1898 Columbian Exposition (Chicago Worlds Fair)
73. I collect memorabilia from the Our Gang comedies.
74. I'm right handed
75. I used to have a motorcycle - a Yamaha 650
76. I am learning how to play golf and love it!
77. I am one of two djs for the Downtown Crystal Lake Classic Car Nights
78. I have always wanted to play tennis.
79. I love to play raquetball.
80. I owned a disc jockey company for 13 years with one of my friends. We had 3 systems and did mostly weddings.
81. I am the announcer for the Crystal Lake Festival of Lights Parade. Come and see me the Friday night after Thanksgiving in Historic Downtown Crystal Lake.
82. I love the movie - West Side Story.
83. I have a sister Dawn, A brother Tim and another brother Kevin. I am the youngest.
84. I attended Wm. Gray Elementary school.
85. I attended Lane Tech HS for 2 years and Foreman HS for 2 years.
86. I attended Triton College for 2 years.
87. The only places I have ever been outside of the United States are Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and the Bahamas. All 3 were ports on a cruise.
88. I've traveled to the following states - Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Hawaii, California, Arizonia, Kansas, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Iowa.
89. As far as I know I am a blend of Irish, German, English and Welsh.
90. I enjoy doing Suduko puzzles.
91. My wife and I own a store named "Uncle Fat's Attic". You can visit our online store @ http://www.unclefatsattic.com/
92. I was born and raised on the Northwest side of Chicago.
93. I have lived in Chicago, Bensenville, Aurora, Arlington Heights and Lake In The Hills. All in Illinois.
94. My favorite Chicago pizza places are Georgios, Lou Malnati's and Giordanos.
95. My favorite Chicago Hot Dog places are Gene and Judes in River Grove. Gina's in Bensenville and Portillos (all over the place).
96. My favorite Italian Beef places are Portillos (all over) and Roma's on Cicero in Chicago.
97. My favorite BBQ Rib place is Crystal Lake Ribs in Crystal Lake.
98. My favorite book and music store is Borders.
99. Favorite Italian places are Franchescas (all over) and Biagis (Algonquin).
100. Favorite Japanese restaurants are Torishin in Mount Prospect and Bistro Wasabi in Lake In The Hills.
101. Favorite submarine or hero sandwich - Hero's on Western and Addison in Chicago. 2nd best Bob-A-Rino's on Central in Chicago. Sorry Bob!
102. Favorite Guitar players are George Benson, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Peter White and Eddie Van Halen.
103. I consider myself a Baptist. I attend Springbrook Church in Huntley, IL. I volunteer for the hosting Ministry, Connections Ministry, Kids of The Kingdom and the Production Ministry.
     

I know it's late, but...

Here is a picture of our dog - Jazzy dressed as a queen for Halloween. On Halloween Downtown Crystal Lake had a Halloween Handout. So at our store - Uncle Fat's Attic we sat out in fron with Jazzy and our neighbor - Cut N' Cuddle Dog Grooming had their dog Nick (a standard poodle) dressed as a Chicago Bull. The fun never ends!

Manufacturers Blog: CoolStuffBeingMade.com (Weekend Video) Archives

This is a cool site by the National Association of Manufacturers. It has some great videos of how "stuff" is made! Sit back and enjoy!