This Day in History

Washington Becomes First Elected US President (1789)

Washington, who served as commander-in-chief of the Continental army in the American Revolution, was elected the first President of the US after the adoption of the Constitution. His two-term administration was marked by the establishment of a number of key American institutions that continue to operate today. Because of his central role in the founding of the US, Washington is often called the "Father of his Country." Can you think of 5 places or institutions that are named after him?

George Washington remains the only President to receive 100% of the electoral votes. That certainly is a stark contrast to this years race. In this time full of war, economic crisis and general uncertainty it would be nice if we had clarity as a nation on who is best suited to lead us out of the mire.

This first quote was included in an email forward, and I really enjoyed the visual it stimulated in my mind. Which of our Presidential candidates is most like the man in the bucket?

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. -Winston Churchill











This second quote is one of my all time favorites. I believe in persevering through challenging times and sometimes a simple quote like this reminds us to do just that.

Ice Cream Anyone?

Ben & Jerry's is having their free scoop day on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008. Enjoy.


Click Here to locate a participating store

UCLA, Dukes & Malibu Beaches

I love California. I count myself very lucky to live in such a diverse part of the world. Within an hour or so from our house we can find just about anything. We can shoot up to our cabin in 45 minutes, head to the beach in under an hour, cruise to San Diego in a short jaunt, etc. Last night my wife was trying to figure out something to do today and we somehow ended up planning on a trip to UCLA for a book fair. The fair was huge and was spread out across the entire, large, UCLA campus. Unfortunately there wasn't a ton to do there for kids, other than watch their parents buy them books, so we didn't stay too long. We decided to head towards to beach, 4 miles away and ended up at Dukes in Malibu for an early dinner. Dinner at any restaurant with two 15 month olds and a 3 year old is a challenge, but our waitress was great and just smiled the whole time as she watched us deal with our masticating maelstrom. After our great dinner we went looking for a place for the kids to play and ended up having a great time on the beach. Not only do I live in a great place, but I get to do so with this great family! Lucky? Oh yes!

I caught part of the movie Spanglish on the tele last night and the main family in the movie moves to Malibu for the summer... I don't think that's such a bad idea. Maybe I can house swap my cabin for somebodies ocean front property for a few months!

Favorite Quote?

I'm not much of a favorites type of guy. When it comes to quotes and poems I love that one can find it's way into your life at just the right time. Today I was reminded of this poem:

1. The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5 Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, 10 And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. 15 I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. 20

Do you have a favorite quote or poem? One that has helped you through a challenging time, or that provided inspiration when you needed it most?

Today and the Law of Expectation

So some guys 'stole' my law, named it the law of attraction and made a killing marketing the concept that the things we dwell upon become bigger in our lives. The Law of Expectation that I began formulating in 1999 while living in Africa is a little different, and I plan on expounding on it in a post shortly.

I have been waiting on some pretty big deals to close recently. Three big ones and a couple little ones, but they're all big to me right now. With the real estate market in turmoil none of these deals have gone remotely close to as planned and this has been the source of a small *cough* amount of stress in my life. But today things begin to change in my favor. There may not be one specific thing that will change today, but I believe that the momentum will finally be picking up and moving in my direction. I'm ready to unload these three so I can focus on new projects and spend some quality time with the family that has been so patient with me.

So if you woke up this morning and smelled something in the air, it was the winds of change and it smells GREAT!

Ironic Typo

Pulling into a parking lot the other day I noticed this nice new sign on the dumpster area door. This is in a new commercial complex that is overall a pretty well done project, but this just cracked me up.

Skipping Stones 2.0

My Dad is an amazing Man. I'm pretty used to how great he is, but he tossed me a wicked googly by writing a poem inspired by a picture taken on our outing this past weekend. I thought I'd share.

These are perfect words from me to my son. How awesome that they are written from my Father! Thanks for showing me how to laugh and have fun Dad.

Liberty

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.
- Thomas Jefferson

Readers of this blog know that I am a proponent of liberty and limited government. In this election year the above quote stands out to me for I feel that we are faced with candidates that are not overly concerned in our individual freedom. I agree with Jefferson. In both the case of the people having 'too much' liberty and in being overly limited there are inconveniences. I much prefer those accompanying liberty than of being led blindly into socialism and heavy handed government.

Skipping Stones

We spent the afternoon down in San Clemente at a friends house and took the kids out for a stint in the sand. I usually take all of the pictures so I was very pleased when Tanya snapped this one of me showing my little man how to skip stones. I love being a father and I really love the idea of showing my little boy how to do 'guy' things like skipping stones.

My girls are awesome and the weather was blissful so I got a couple good shots of them too. This one is of my oldest and her best friend.

I made a nice cheese fondue for our pre-lunch snack and it seemed to be pretty well received. 1 lb Swiss, 1 lb mild chedder, 2 cups white wine, 1 tsp nutmeg, and a couple dashes of chives. We enjoyed it with apple slices, 1 day old french bread, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. Mmmmm!