We Are Penn State, and We Are Proud — A Message to the Pride

10. November 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: family, football, giving back, hope, penn state, struggles, tragedy

IMG_0092Brothers, sisters, friends and family; We Are Penn State.

We are not defined by the actions or inactions of a few members of the faculty and staff of the university, no matter how ugly the traditional media, the blogosphere, or other outlets may paint us in this time of crisis.

If you are like me, the news thats come out of University Park over the past week has been disturbing, confusing, and frightening. The news horrifies us because it runs counter to everything we believe in about our schools traditions and our heroes.

Lets not forget that our heroes can still be honored even if theyve been dismissed by the Trustees. Whether you believe that Joe Paterno was rightfully or wrongfully dismissed, we all agree that he did more for the students and the university than any other person in the history of our institution. None of us can imagine Penn State without Joe and we will miss him.

Ive been shocked to see some of the comments in the twittersphere which have called for everything from not sending kids to Penn State, to employers rejecting resumes with Penn State on them. Im sure some people may in fact choose to take these actions. If so, this will be unfortunate.

Penn State is more than football. Penn State is more than Joe Paterno. And Penn State is damn sure more than the pedophile, Jerry Sandusky.

Penn State has produced some amazing people who have given touched our lives: Mark Parker (CEO of Nike), Steve McCurry (National Geographic Photographer) and Richard James (inventor of the Slinky) to name only a few.

Penn State helps mankind. Penn State students raise millions of dollars each year at THON to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund. THON is the largest student run philanthropy in the world!

Fellow Penn Staters, we have many reasons to be proud. Please dont give up. Please wear our colors and support our school in these trying times.

We Are Penn State.

Who Am I? (An Exercise in Self Exploration)

10. October 2011 · Write a comment · Categories: dad, family, fatherhood, self, thoughts, work

Me - Selby BayWho Am I?

  1. A husband and a father
  2. A person with a strong work ethic
  3. A problem solver
  4. A good communicator
  5. A writer
  6. An environmentalist
  7. A technologist
  8. An artist
  9. A food lover
  10. A cyclist

A few more words about each of these. More »

Life without Facebook

01. August 2011 · 4 comments · Categories: facebook, family, fatherhood

dennis_deanna_wedding005Well folks, it’s been a little over a month since I deactivated my Facebook account and it’s been a good month. First off, I’ll admit that I did login last week. I looked around for about five minutes and decided to deactivate it again. There really isn’t a whole lot that I’m missing by not tuning into Facebook on a daily basis.

The first few days, maybe the first week, it was strange. I missed the constant feedback. I missed the chatter. I have maintained my twitter account and it took a beating the first few weeks. I was tweeting like a madman for sure, but that has subsided. I got hooked into google+ – and really that’s a bit of a disappointment in one respect and a pleasure in another. There’s much less of the “my cat took a shit in the toilet” kind of status updates on it. More »

Dad would have celebrated

02. May 2011 · 1 comment · Categories: america, dad, death, disgust, family, fatherhood, fear, frustration, gratitude, hope, incongruities, marriage, media, mortality, rants, struggles, television, thoughts, time, tragedy · Tags: ,

Papa Don's Little GirlDad would be celebrating today.

He was horrified to see his brethren die on that tragic day when the towers collapsed.  We talked in the days after the events of 9/11 about the job that the men of FDNY were doing.  I could hear the pain in his voice.

As a nation, we rallied around each other.  Many of us reacted in ways that we didn’t fully understand.  In retrospect everything seems different.  Ten years of war and a recession have changed my views.  Becoming a father has changed my views.  Meeting my wife changed my views.

I honestly don’t know how I feel about the death of Osama Bin Laden.  It’s almost meaningless to me.  There is an entire army of new recruits that has been formed over the past ten years.  And now to find out that he’s been “hiding” in a populated area?

I cannot celebrate.   The chest thumping is ugly.

I long for a day when the “threat level” is not orange.  What will a day that is “green” be like?  Will we ever see one?

When will it be safe to move on?

Update on 2011 Goals — New Developments

07. March 2011 · 2 comments · Categories: cycling, daily life, exercise, family, fatherhood, fitness, good things, mr. grey, weight loss · Tags:

Earlier this year, I wrote about setting realistic goals for myself. The three goals I listed were:

  • Loose about 30 pounds. Yes, 30.
  • Choose three cycling events for the year. At least one must be a century.
  • Take Mr. Grey to a park once a week and spend an hour playing with him.

I’m happy to report that I’ve managed to choose three cycling events for the year, and one is a century. I’ll be riding on May 7th at the Six Pillars Century on the Eastern Shore. I will not be doing the century however, just the 56 mile ride. I also plan to ride in the MS ride in Gettysburg, PA in July (another 60 miler) and the Seagull Century on the eastern shore in October.

I have not managed to take Mr. Grey to a park once a week, but I have managed to spend quality time with him on a weekly basis, which is really what that goal was all about.

Where I’ve fallen down is on the weight goal. I haven’t done anything to move forward on that goal, until this past weekend.

As I was cycling on Saturday (the first time since my first ride of the year in January) I made the decision that I would indeed dedicate myself to losing weight and getting fit. I was thinking primarily about re-dedicating myself to hitting the gym. I was thinking about making time to go to the gym and maybe even looking into a personal trainer. I really wasn’t thinking about losing weight as much as thinking about getting fit.

Then, I had one of those epiphany type moments later that day in REI.

I had gone to REI to try on some cycling jackets. In particular, I was looking for something that was a bit more Hi-Viz than what I have today. There has been a Gore brand jacket I’ve been lusting over for some time that conveniently converts into a vest and has all the pockets in all the right places.

I thought my barrier to entry with this jacket would be the price. I was wrong.

The XL doesn’t fit. I’m too fat.

So, I started to re-evaluate why I was thinking about getting more fit. I looked back at my goals. I joined Weight Watchers again.

I’m pretty excited about the prospect of Weight Watchers. They have re-vamped the program with a stronger emphasis on carbs rather than calories and fat. I get a ton more “points” per week than the last time I did this and I was able to eat pretty much all the things that I wanted to over the weekend. I haven’t found any crazy substitutions in recipes (like black beans as an ingredient to brownies – YUCK). I even had a few beers and didn’t have to sacrifice and make them “light” beers.

In addition, they have made online and mobile tools available to members who go to meetings. This makes tracking my food intake a breeze. No more carrying around a crazy slide rule and little book filled with points values of foods I don’t eat.

I can already feel a difference after just two days – not necessarily in weight but in attitude and mood. I’m uplifted. I woke this morning at 6:38 when Mr. Grey threw his pig at me and actually felt good. I can’t remember the last time I felt good in the morning.

« Older articles