Amazingly similar to the way Ruth and I met...

Random Madness: Jolokia Pepper Test

Unbelievable short film of a man eating the worlds hottest pepper. Worth watching. I think my brothers Dave and Jeremy could both eat TWO of these. And if they do you'll see it here first on The Daily Item.

Until then... Enjoy!

Squirrel Launcher of Doom

Wait for it... wait for it...

Esto Es Muy Malo!

O.K. my hobbies are different: Don't Judge Me!

"Deep in the hundred acre wood...."

You win ten internets if you can tell me the name of the creature... on the left.

It's fun to go to the Y-M-C-A

AMBL NEWS: Team skunks opponent!! Cruises to Victory!

An AMBL first this morning as Team "Underachiever" (Kirk, Griffiths, Snell and Hope) wins big while holding opposing team to zero, nada, nill, zilch, goose-egg, no points!

Daily Item reporter, Kieser Souza was able to get a few words from the opposing team:

The DI: "Say, how does it feel to be skunked by this ragtag team of misfits?"

Clive III: "Horrible man"

The DI: "Did you know that this is the first time that this has EVER happened in an AMBL (sanctioned) game?"

Clive III: "Uh, no. No one hip me to that, man"

The DI: "It appeared that your father Brent Jr. Owned you this morning!"

Clive III: "Huh? Well... that's like, your opinion... man."

Well there you have it. Poised to go down in infamy. Team Underachiever accomplishes the equivalent of Baseball's "Triple-Play" Golf's "Grand-Slam" Olympian "Gold" or a Dave Gardner layin without traveling (a truly rare event indeed!).

sigh - My, Oh My!

Srsly: Best Motorcycle Ever

Harley Davidson or this? I'll take THIS 10 out of 10 times.

-sniff... this is so AWESOME!

Say it with Sparkles!

This is how Nixon should be remembered

Genealogy can tell us a lot about our ancestors

(circa 1705)

Dr. J Steven Hope (my great, great, great, GREAT Grandfather) performing operation with colleagues looking on in wide-eyed wonderment.

I guess I have nothing in common with this ancestor.

Who wouldn't want a pet elephant after seeing this picture?

Hint: Best movie ever

(clue above)

Go on, take a guess.

Travis is "sworn-in" to the United States Army

Brent, Jeremy, Travis and Brent

Here's a tentative yet courageous Travis Hatch already "sworn-in" to the United States Army. We were lucky to be with Travis his last day as civilian. Tonight he is with his Army mates at the Holiday Inn in Boise and tomorrow on his way to Fort Jackson South Carolina for boot camp! We are so proud of him!

Old Tacoma House

The Daily Item Highlight: A girl named Barbi

Barbi and Brent on chairlift

Today I'd like to highlight a friend of mine.

• Her name is Barbi.
• Barbi is the manager of a group of transport engineers in Omaha Nebraska.
• Barbi just spent the last couple of days helping us with our OC-3 to OC-12 project.
• Barbi has a huge brain but is very careful in letting you think that she's common (like I am) but really she is not common.
• Barbi understands the complexity (inside and out) of SONET transport via optical and copper medium, T1, DS1, T3, DS3, VTS-1, etc. (inanimate objects)
• Barbi understands the human scene and the complexity (inside and out) of individuals (animated objects).
• Barbi is a good listener.
• Barbi is happy!
• Barbi is funny!
• Barbi is adventurous.
• Barbi wears 3 inch heels in 6 inches of new snow on top of Bald Mountain.
• Barbi reminds you (without words and by her example) that there are excellent people in our country.
• Barbi makes a difference in her community and workplace.
• Barbi is a cancer survivor
• Barbi knows that Jesus Christ lives.

In other words... If you were stuck on a deserted island and your Fujitsu 4500 showed multiple conditions and a critical alarm. You would want to have Barbi with you so she could get you back on line.

Thanks for visiting us Barbi!!

Brent, Barbi and Michael (transport engineer from Omaha) on top of Bald Mountain, Sun Valley Idaho.

Lets give Barbi a great big Daily-Item round of applause!

Working the Late Shift

Not sure exactly how this picture relates to my situation (but don't you just love this picture anyway??). I'm working late tonight at the mighty communications biz upgrading our current optical link to/from Omaha from an OC-3 to an OC-12.

You get a treat if you know the difference.

Tuesday Undefeatedness in the AMBL: That's right... Out of this World

(From Left to Right: Nathan, Travis, Shon and Brent)

Tuesday's big winners in the AMBL were the above 4 gentlemen going undefeated in three straight.