120- Wings Lose Game One to Sharks

The Wings went up early and clung to a 1-0 lead into the third period when the referees dreamed up a boarding penalty on Todd Bertuzzi to put the Sharks on the power play and Pavelski made it a 1-1 game. The game went into OT and after the Wings just finished penalty killing 4 minutes of a double minor, the Sharks banked a shot off Stuart to win the game 2-1. Jimmy Howard stopped 44 of 46 shots on goal.

MVP for the San Jose Sharks- the three referees who sent the Wings to the sin bin 7 times to 4 times for the Sharks. SJ converted on 1 of 4 power plays, Wings 0-2.

119- Royal Wedding

I didn't watch it but did record it for my wife who is out of the country. I am sure the Royal will top rounds 2-3 of the NFL draft when history looks back on April 29, 2011.

118- NFL Draft Round One

With all the legal and labor turmoil in the NFL, draft day 2011 is still a pretty big deal. My two teams picked players that no one thought they would.

Detroit Lions selected Nick Fairley (DT from Auburn) at pick #13.

San Diego Chargers selected Corey Liuget (DT from Illinois) at pick #18.

Originally everyone was thinking the Lions would take Prince Amukamura a CB from Nebraska (who went to the NY Giants at 19) and the Chargers would get Cameron Jordan a big DT from California. Jordan went to the Saints six picks later at #24.

117- BBQ Grilling is Fun

After an Easter Sunday dinner of smoked pork ribs, I took to the BBQ grill again on Wednesday night for some grilled pork and corn on the cob. If that wasn't good enough, I brought home some strawberries and blueberries from Sprouts and made a fruit cocktail and served it with chocolate sponge cake. All in all not a bad dinner cooked by the daddy.

116- New Camera

Well after logging six extra days of work over the past two months I could finally afford to get a new camera. Its a Nikon D3100 DSLR. I am hoping to get back into photography as a hobby again. It is supposed to take some great photos and along with Paint Shop Pro Photo Ultimate x2 (that I bought on sale for $15) I should be able to make some real nice pictures.

115- Blah Monday

Don't know whether it was a typical blah Monday or worse. I think it had to do with the fact we ate Easter dinner at 800pm after BMO got out of work. But I still felt stuffed when I left for work in the morning. Top that off with an extremely high volume of toothaches... yes Blah Monday.

114- Happy Easter

Michelangelo, Risen Christ (Il Cristo Risorto. In the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome. Yes I've been there and seen this)

Well... we tried to get up for 630am Sonrise service but... went to 830am instead. Good News- Good Words- Happy Easter- Wow do I feel good!

113- Yardwork Today

Lots planned today:

- trip to the bank
- trim up the yard
- do some landscaping/planting
- marinade the food for Easter dinner
- vacuum the house--------------------------Big G
- cook lunch and dinner


Thankfully no Red Wings hockey--- or this plan would fall to pieces. The Big G will handle the vacuuming so that's already off my list :)

112- Happy Earth Day

Earth day is today. Born in 1970... Earth Day is is celebrated every April 22nd. That makes it 41 old today.

Go out, plant a tree, pick up some other slob's trash, go to Starbucks and get a free coffee (with your reusable travel mug), or attend an earth day event.

Here's a link.

Other elements of the 2011 Earth Day campaign include:

• The Canopy Project: Help fight deforestation, we will plant a tree for every $1 you donate
• Green Schools: Greening America’s Schools within a Generation
• Women and Green Economy (WAGE)™: Engaging women leaders in the creation and development of a global green economy
• Athletes for the Earth: Bringing the voices of Olympic and professional athletes to the environmental movement
• Creating Climate Wealth: Convening 200 of the world’s entrepreneurs to solve climate change and create a new green economy
• Arts for the Earth: Celebrating the work of environmental artists in all media, including
  • Design: Browse submissions to the Acts of Green contest - You can purchase the winning t-shirt on April 22.
  • Music: visit our Music for the Earth contest - download hundreds of free Earth Day-themed songs
  • Museums: Our partnership with the American Museum Association

111- Springpad down?

So I decided to put my lists up in the cloud. This includes shopping lists, information lists, books I want to read list, movies I'd like to rent list, and "little facts that I need to remember" list, etc. I was thinking this would be a nice, safe place to keep this so I could access it anytime, whether from my phone or my computer.

Wrong- O!

For the last two days this list program has been "unavailable". Server problems.

Now the little man inside me is screaming "I TOLD YOU SO, KNUCKLEHEAD". Seems the little man was telling that "hey you know servers crash and "dot com" companies go out of business.

and after just checking... it's still down.

If that isn't just one big, tech, crap sandwich... and the little man is ROFLHAOing right now.

110- Wings Sweep

Nice Wings win... 12 more to go. After a bruising game on Monday, the Coyotes came out even more physical and actually held a 3-2 lead in the second period. Some strong play and good shooting by the Wings and it turned into a 6-3 final and some days off to rest and ger ready for round 2.

109- Rain

April 20 I woke up this morning and rain had been falling in the night. Sure was a weird day. Was out for lunch and started out with a coat on and ended with my sleeves rolled up and my coat off.

108-Wings Win in Arizona go up 3-0

3 down- 13 to go. Detroit took it to the Coyotes early to score two quick goals and rode their early success to a 4-2 win over Phoenix. The Coyotes shut down Detroit's magician, Pavel Datsyuk, but that didn't stop Ruslan Salei, Drew Miller, Valeri Filppula and Johan Franzen from putting the puck into the Phoenix goal.

Once again the only goals the Coyotes were able muster up were with a power play man advantage and they scored twice.

It was a great day to be a Red Wing fan.

107- Places to Visit in Southern Germany

Hello all you world travelers out there. Where would be some good places to visit in Southern Germany? I'll have about ten days of travel and we'll have a car. Our home base is Stuttgart. We've already visited Munich and the Garmisch area. I'd be interested to hear of some nice sites to visit in the area.

106- Wings 4- Zebras 7- Coyotes 3

14 more wins to the Stanley Cup. It was the Pavel Datsyuk show today. One goal and three assists was just another day at the office for the Russian born superstar. He was a man among boys out there.

The Red Wings got off to a fantastic start and built a 4-0 lead two minutes into the second period. Maybe it was a frantic call from Commisioner Gary Bettman at his Toronto NHL Headquarters to make the game closer because people were starting to change channels... I can't be sure... but suddenly the referees pulled out their whistles and gave the Coyotes seven power play chances to allow them to get back into the game. Phoenix managed to convert 3 of 7 and scored all there goals with the extra man. Funny the Wings were among the LEAST penalized teams during the regular season yet so far in two games the refs have awarded 13 PP chances to the Coyotes. 6 on Wednesday and 7 today. Maybe the next game they'll give them the advantage 8 times???

Amazingly, while the refs were whistling every Red Wing transgressor, they somehow failed to penalize the Coyote captain, Shane Doan, for cross checking the Red Wings Johan Franzen headfirst into the boards. The hit smashed Franzen's face and it required 21 stitches to close the wounds... again no penalty. How do you miss something like that?

Aas an aside Franzen has been stitched up three times in recent games and no one has gone to the penalty box. I always thought a penalty became a double minor when blood was drawn. Hmmmm. I guess it isn't if you're a Red Wing player.

No sour grapes... I just want to be sure that the refs know that they need to look on both sides of the rink when start applying the rules of hockey. I'd like to see them applied evenly to both sides.

104- Car Repair

I Never Knew!

103- It's Octopus Time Again.

The legendary Al Sobotka... aka octopi slinger... the Zamboni driver at the Joe Louis Arena, the home of the Detroit Red Wings.

One down fifteen to go.

That's right. The Red Wings won their opening game of the Stanley Cup playoffs over the Phoenix Coyotes by a 4-2 score.

From Wikipedia:

The Legend of the Octopus is a sports tradition during Detroit Red Wings home playoff games where octopodes are thrown onto the ice surface. The origins of the activity go back to the 1952 playoffs, when a National Hockey League team played two best-of-seven series to capture the Stanley Cup. The octopus, having eight arms, symbolized the number of playoff wins necessary for the Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup. The practice started April 15, 1952 when Pete and Jerry Cusimano, brothers and storeowners in Detroit's Eastern Market, hurled an octopus into the rink of The Old Red Barn.^[1] The team swept the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens en route to winning the championship, as well as winning two of the next three championships.

Since 1952 the practice has persisted with each passing year. In one 1995 game, fans threw 36 octopuses, including a specimen weighing 38 pounds (17 kg).^[2] The Red Wings' unofficial mascot is a purple octopus named Al, and during playoff runs two of these mascots are also hung from the rafters of the Joe Louis Arena, symbolizing the 16 wins now needed to win the Stanley Cup. It has become such an accepted part of the team's lore, that fans have developed what is considered proper etiquette and technique for throwing an octopus onto the ice.^[3]

Now-a-days it takes sixteen victories to win the Stanley Cup ... so that's two octopi.

102- New H1N1 Outbreak in Mexico

Red Alert:

120 new cases of H1N1 are reported in Tamaulipas, Mexico and two fatalities in Chihauhua. H1N1 is suspected in these cases because usually flu outbreaks diminish at this time of year. Scientists suspect a mutation change in the virus.

101- Mayan Calendar Update

620 days remaining.

100- Lucky 100

You know.... I'm a pretty lucky guy. With getting too personal, I'll relate how lucky I'v e been all my life. I was lucky enough to be born in America. When I was two days old they found I had a blockage in my intestines. In nearly every other country I wold have died. But here in the USA I was lucky to have the surgeons and the surgical equipment to survive a surgery to remove the twelve inch piece of bad parts.

So I'm lucky to just be alive... I truly believe that every minute past my first two days is bonus time.

I was lucky enough to have a kindergarten teacher who took the time to encourage me to use all my intelligence and skill. She looked at my hands and said I would either be a great musician (pianist) or a surgeon. I played saxophone in both high school and college and won blue ribbons at the state competitions. I became a dentist and use my hands to perform delicate surgeries, fillings and dental procedures everyday.

I was lucky enough to chose to serve my country in the military for 21 years. I was lucky enough not to get wounded or hurt in an armed conflict. I was lucky enough to get promoted and retire as a Commander. I have been lucky to enjoy good health and a moderate level of prosperity... my family has a home over our heads and food on the table.

But my greatest fortune has been my family and friends. I was lucky enough to convince a beautiful wife to marry me when she could have had her pick of nearly any guy in town. We've been lucky enough to be married for 26 years and counting. We've also been lucky enough to have three great children- two who have gone to college and gone on to establish themselves in their fields of study with good jobs- with the third heading to college next Fall.

Yes. I've been lucky but I must also consider the fact that I've been blessed. God must be shining on me and my family to provide for the good fortune and luck that I have enjoyed. Praise the Lord. I've enjoyed a career in the military that has involved worldwide travel and upon retiring I literally fell into two jobs directly due to my friends. Thank you both Margie and Christopher.

The friends I have made over the years have supported me with their friendship and love. It seems that the assortment of pals and friends have given me as much happiness as my parents, wife and children. I've been lucky throughout my life... and I thank God for my good luck.

I guess that old phrase of "It's better to be lucky than good" is true and it applies to my life everyday.

99-My First Tricycle

98-Digging For Gold

97- The Five Sons-in-Law

My dad and uncles.

96- Brothers -Now

95- Brothers-Then

94- Harry James of Mt Carmel High

My dad.

93- The Backyard Fishing Trip

That's me at two years old.

92- The Hunter (2)

My Brother.

91- The Hunter (1)

My Grandfather.

90-2nd Grade

I went back home for a visit to Michigan and came across some old photos. I'll share them starting with this photo of my second grade class.